


Past-Present-Future

by yeojasamho



Series: The New Superpowers AU [1]
Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mutants, Assassins & Hitmen, F/M, Flashbacks, Gen, Mental Institutions, Mutant Powers, Mutants, Past Drug Use, Romantic Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:40:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 39,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27160592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeojasamho/pseuds/yeojasamho
Summary: She has lived with guilt. Slowly remembering details of her checkered past when she was interned at a sanitarium years ago. The sudden reemerging of a person she remembered dying and the resurgence of a powerful crime syndicate will have her trying to walk the line between the person she has become and the person she was once destined to be.
Relationships: Jeong Yunho/Original Female Character(s)
Series: The New Superpowers AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1982525





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Redoing my superpowers AU to a more contained setting, meaning there's a little less characters, but the same key characters seen in the original AU are there (Dean, Chanyeol, Junhong...) it's just more focused on ATEEZ and pretty much no one else.

_“As of today, the seven of you will become a unit, a covert unit. To put it simply, if I want someone killed, you will do it for me, if I want people killed, you will do it for me, if I want information, you will retrieve it for me, all in all, if I want something, you will get it for me, I am good they are bad,” A woman, whose face was obscured in the dark, told the seven people - six men and one woman, all of whom had vacant expressions and were staring into space._

_They were lined up in a padded room, a secret room in the sanitarium that doubled as a training room from the shelves upon shelves of sharp weapons on display at the very end of the room. She knew they could hear her, they just couldn’t speak._

_“Kim Hongjoong, Park Seonghwa, Jeong Yunho, Song Mingi, Jung Wooyoung, Choi Jongho, and,” A man said this time, his face also obscured in the dark, reciting each of their names before rounding on the sole woman in the lineup of people wearing sanitarium uniforms. “Lee Mirae,” the man was smirking in the dark. “The future of our program, you will lead this unit, your progress from all the training these past few years has been exceptional, near-perfect, I would like to think.”_

_Mirae said nothing. “Quite an impressive one you are, Lee Mirae,” The woman spoke again. “It’s almost as if you were born for this kind of job. Changseok, what do you think? She is the most successful one we’ve trained under the program, right?”_

_“Quite right, honey. Lee Mirae, you are the most successful experiment in this program of ours. It’s not hard to see why, you were born with the mutant gene,” The man seemed to stare at her. “Your own parents didn’t realize your true potential when they interned you in here, but consider this as a way to lead you to what you are destined to be. The most-feared mercenary the world has ever known. The mere sight of you will bring even the most powerful people to their knees, begging you to spare their lives.”_

_Mirae still said nothing. Like the others, she could hear them, she just couldn’t speak. “You will be pulled out whenever we have a mission for you. This will entail traveling to faraway parts of the world. While you’re all built to be killing machines, I don’t think any of you are invulnerable to harm. But don’t worry, after every mission, upon returning, you will all be subject to electroshock therapy. Just enough to make you forget what you’ve done, where you went, and whom you might have killed,” The woman spoke again._

_They could hear her. They just couldn’t speak. “You are all ready for your first mission. It’s in Busan. You will be briefed on the way. It’s time to open Pandora’s Box.”_

_The seven of them twitched in their places. As the man known as Changseok began to repeat the last two words, the seven of them continued twitching, tilting their heads as if hearing something that hurt their ears. It sounded like nails on a chalkboard, forks scratching ceramic plates. When Changseok stopped, all of them stood still, a blank look in their eyes as if in a trance. “Remember, regardless of the weapon you pick, you are the true weapon.”_

~ 

Seoul. 9:00 p.m. Present day.

Five years have passed since the Seoul attack that changed everything. Almost everyone that was part of trying to stop it was gone, either dead or missing. Lee Mirae stared at the rain tapping on the windows of her apartment. It was now four years since the Utopian cult, the encounter that gave her a rude awakening, the encounter that made everything seem like a lie, the encounter where she lost her adoptive brother Jihoon. There was a memorial in place for the lives lost during those times, placed on the site where the Center for Paranormal Research once stood. 

This was no longer the place she once knew. Even the brightest colors from the lights by the river seemed to have a grey, almost black tinge to it all. For some reason, the place she called home was no longer as bright as she knew it to be. It was a lot darker, and it wasn’t only because of the constant dark clouds hanging over the city, but it was also because the crime rate was still at its highest. Gangs were rampant all over. Law enforcement couldn’t be trusted. It wasn’t hard for Mirae to realize how much things weren’t so bright and cheerful since the Seoul attack. It was never bright and cheerful. She just wasn’t paying much attention. 

Mirae was a mutant, and had the ability to manipulate energy. She turned the smallest things into extremely explosive projectiles, and she often did it with a deck of cards. Being an omega-level mutant, the fullest extent of her powers allowed her to turn into an energy being, aside from a healing factor that made her almost immortal, and it also slowed down her aging process. She was a fighter, gifted with many forms of combat, and she was often told by her adoptive brother that no one could beat her in any way, but she knew that wasn’t true nor was it going to be true. She often used a steel bo staff made for her by Junhong, one of the surviving tech guys from the attack, who also took it upon himself to make changes to some of her things, including her car and the windows of both her apartment and the record store she owned and operated. 

Her powers didn’t stop there. From the two big events that shook the city came her ability to trap souls into objects, usually her cards. This also resulted in a white streak in her hair that she never bothered covering up, not even when she tried to dye her hair. 

She heard the door open and turned around. It was her half-brother, Choi San, coming back from getting take-out at the nearest restaurant. San was a mutant like her, and was also gifted with the ability to manipulate energy, only he channeled it through his harpoon. His healing abilities were just as strong as hers, granting him near-immortality. San was also skilled in combat, and when they reunited, he was working as a mercenary for hire. He still was one. Like her, he also had a streak in his hair, a purple one that seemed to cover up the white that formed upon using his powers to their fullest extent. 

Mercenary. The mere word made her shake her head. That wasn’t her. If it was, then it was the old her. She was no longer under the control of her Utopian cult. The trigger was gone, taken out of her head. She knew this well. She was the one who drove the sword into the leaders of that cult, her own adoptive parents. 

“I’ve come back bearing meat, I figured we could grill some over the stove for dinner tonight” He said, holding up a black plastic bag. San tilted his head. “You had another dream, didn’t you?” He figured. 

“Yeah,” Mirae let out an exasperated sigh. She had trouble sleeping, knowing that her dreams would present her flashes of memories from her time at the sanitarium. Only this time, the memories she would have would lead her to wake up in tears as those memories were of Jihoon. Jihoon, whom she promised to protect with her whole life when he got out, whom she practically raised, and whom she ultimately failed to save. 

“What was it this time?” San asked, already bringing out a griddle pan to pan-fry the meat instead. 

“The first mission I had, or at least that’s what it sounded like, the usual stuff,” She replied, setting the table while he cooked the meat. 

San’s expression turned into that of concern as he glanced at her. It made him wonder how he could somehow help her get out of this, out of her inability to sleep. “I could get you sleeping pills if you need it,” He said carefully. 

“Thanks, but no thanks. Whether or not I take them, I still have those dreams,” Mirae shook her head, helping him out with cooking this time. 

“Hasn’t Junhong… tried to come up with something to help you? What about your friends? Chanyeol? Hyuk? Have they thought of helping you?” San’s tone was becoming increasingly concerned. 

“How can they? Hyuk’s not that powerful a telepath, what can Chanyeol do, burn my head? Ino… well, he’s too caught up in trying to manage his own powers to even try and help out other people,” Mirae answered. “Even if they tried, when the trigger was taken out of me, the psychic block in my head grew stronger, they can’t read my mind even if I wanted them to.” 

San frowned. He hated that he couldn’t do anything to help her either. “I hear you crying in the middle of the night sometimes,” he said, partly wondering if it was the right time to point it out. “At first I thought you were crying because you missed Jihoon, but over time I realized it was something else,” He quickly turned the meat over in time before one side burned. 

“I will always miss him. But every time I go to sleep I’m always haunted by what happened to me before,” Mirae muttered. “I’ll be fine, San. Really, I’ll be fine, I can cope with it,” She assured him. “Maybe some sparring will help clear my head. Want to spar with me later?” 

“Will you let me win this time?” San teased, in an effort to lighten the mood. 

“I can’t promise you that,” Mirae teased back. 

~ 

“I thought you said you were training yourself?” Mirae asked later on in the training room down the hall from their apartment later that night. She managed to put San down on the mat in less than a minute during their first try. 

“I was!” San argued, sounding frustrated as he got back up on his feet. “You’re just that good!” He pointed out, charging towards his sister, who easily blocked every strike he made while he did the same yet with a few maneuvers later, he was back down on the mat. 

“That’s not true, you’re probably just not training enough,” Mirae pointed out, helping him back up. 

“Hey! I really was!” San got back up. “Maybe we should just go through the obstacle course kind of training instead,” He said. Although he was frustrated at how he never seemed to be able to one-up Mirae, he couldn’t stay frustrated for long. He wanted to help her clear her head and he was determined to make it happen, even if it was at his own expense. 

“Deal. I would never fight you anyway, unless you need to because I might be hypnotized or something,” She assured him, flipping one of the switches to start the courses in front of them. Several dummies were already positioned at the end along with spiked gauntlets that were rotating. 

When Mirae flung a few cards towards the dummies in front of her, it signaled San to attack as well, his harpoon gun piercing through the dummy head and as the arrow pulled back, the head was nearly ripped off. The two of them rolled over to either side of the room, picking up the nearest weapon they could get their hands on: Mirae, her staff and San with a pair of nunchaku. 

They attacked the spiked gauntlets at the same time with their weapons, kicks, and punches. Their attacks seemed incredibly effortless and precise. San smiled to himself at how they attacked at the same time, and he could tell Mirae was smiling as well, some blood staining the backs of their shoes from kicking a little too hard and breaking the spikes off. When they reached the end of the course, they looked at the nearly broken down obstacles, satisfied with what they did. Mirae handed him a pair of shurikens and the two of them kicked each one towards the dummies that fell out from the ceiling. While San’s hit the dummies on the legs, Mirae’s hit them squarely on the chest and on the head. 

They hit high fives. “Close enough, but we did great!” San enveloped her in a hug with one arm. “One day, I’ll hit those dummies just as good as you did” He said, eyeing the shurikens on the legs of the dummies hanging from the ceiling. “I’ve always wondered why you don’t have guns in here.” 

“These weapons existed long before there were guns,” Mirae pointed out, retracting her staff. “And they’re a lot cooler to use,” She winked, making San chuckle. 

“Okay then, let’s call it a night, I’ve got a game to play and we’ll clean all of this up tomorrow, don’t clean it up, let’s do it tomorrow” San pushed her towards the doors before she could object. 

Mirae allowed herself to be led, still feeling the rush from their training session. As she set foot outside the room and into the hallway, she froze as she saw a tall man dressed in black from head to toe, wearing a mask and a fedora. She could tell he was looking right at her before he fled. The way he was dressed seemed familiar to her yet she didn’t know how, it felt a little too familiar as if she wore something like that before. He himself also gave off that familiar feeling. 

The man fled before she tried to follow, but as Mirae ran and tried to catch up by the elevator, he was already gone. San caught up to her. “What is it?” He asked. 

She shook her head. “Nothing, a stray cat got up here” She muttered. “Let’s go back inside.” 

San frowned. “We could’ve taken that cat inside, gave it food, it was probably hungry” He said as they turned back to their apartment. “We could’ve even taken it in for good, like a pet” He eyed her. 

Mirae shook her head again as they entered their home, taking their stained shoes off, revealing the bloodied socks they were both now sporting. She was still thinking about the man in black. Why was he so familiar to her? “You can shower first, I’ll go in after you” She said, heading to her bedroom. 

“Really? Okay then, I’ll let you know when I’m done” San raised a brow, sensing that something was on her mind. Not wanting to ask further, he went straight to the bathroom. 

~ 

_“Remember our promise, okay?” Yunho choked, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth as Mirae tried to hold him. They were in the middle of a desert-like place, somewhere far away. “Remember it-I’ll look for you-I’ll find my way to you when either of us get out, okay?” He sputtered, looking up at her, eyes becoming glazed over._

_The strong wind hit their faces but Mirae didn’t care. Hot tears were streaming down her eyes as she held him, trying her hardest to stop the bleeding coming from his side but failing. “Mirae! Get back here! Leave him!” Hongjoong was yelling as they were on their way back into the military plane, trying to get away from the larger group of what looked like soldiers that worked for their target._

_“He’s a lost cause, you can’t save him, Mirae,” Seonghwa tried to pull her up but Mirae refused to budge. “You’re our leader, we’re not leaving without you” He added._

_“Go with them-go with them” Yunho sputtered. “I love you, Lee Mirae. I love you. Remember that” and his eyes closed, his form collapsing under her._

_More tears fell down the sides of her face as she held his lifeless body close. The pain she felt was slowly being replaced with rage, and as she saw the oncoming soldiers running towards them, about to fire their weapons, her eyes glowed red making all of them combust, exploding in front of her including the weapons they were carrying._

_Seonghwa and the others stared at the scene in shock. Tears were still flowing down the sides of her face as the glow in her eyes faded. He was gone. Yunho was gone._

~ 

Mirae’s eyes shot open in the middle of the night and she sat up. An overwhelming sadness came over her and before she realized it, tears were already flowing down her face. Her hands were shaking as she sobbed into them, She had forgotten his name, but he must have been someone important to her. Whoever he was, his death felt like a heavy blow, like her heart was being broken over and over. 

She had been dreaming about him a lot more lately. Mirae got out of bed and stepped out of her room, sneaking past the sofa bed that San was sleeping on and going to the kitchen. She still felt that overwhelming sadness as she took a drink of water, trying to wipe her eyes from the tears that managed to escape even as she felt like she had already cried her eyes out for the past few minutes. 

The more she thought about it, the more she realized how her time at the sanitarium was more than just a blur, more than Jihoon, more than the electroshock therapy sessions she often had to go under. Mirae figured she fell in love while interned, with the guy she was dreaming about, the guy whose face she was being made to remember. 

“Mirae,” San was already sitting up, looking at her with one eye open. “Are you okay?” He asked. 

“Go back to sleep, I’m fine,” Mirae assured him quietly. 

“It’s getting harder for me to see you like this, I can’t just go back to sleep,” San got up and made his way towards his sister. “What was it this time?” 

Mirae didn’t know how she could tell him. “Someone who isn’t Jihoon, dying in front of me, I killed a lot of people in return. I can’t remember his name, but I’m remembering his face more and more.” 

“Must be important to you, whoever they are” San said. 

“He must be. Otherwise I wouldn’t have killed all of those people in front of us.” 

San rubbed her back and wrapped an arm around her. “Like what you told me, sis. You’ll be okay. This is what’s helping you heal.” 

“I hope so, San,” She looked up at him, feeling the overwhelming sadness and heartbreak again. “I hope so.” 

San stayed up with her to keep her company for a little while more until she urged him to go back to sleep. Neither of them were aware that the man, dressed in black from head to toe with a mask and a fedora hat, was looking up at them from outside the building. 


	2. Chapter 2

_Skkrrt!_

_Skkrrt!_

_Skkrrt!_

_Wooyoung charged at several masked men, slicing through them with his katanas. He quickly dodged strikes from the oncoming masked men behind him, kicking a few more away while slicing through the rest. His face and his all-black attire were splattered with blood but he fought off the rest of the masked soldiers that were attacking him. As the last soldier fell to the floor, Wooyoung put his swords back in their sheaths, wiping the blood off his face with his sleeve. He stepped out of the pile, picking up the black fedora hat in the corner and wearing it, joining the rest of the unit out the room. “Target secured?” He turned to his colleague, who wore a similar outfit and fedora, black face masks covering their nose and mouth._

_They were in a building complex on a faraway island owned by a cartel that had an expertise in ammunitions and kept information about their clients. They were to leave no survivors._

_“Seonghwa’s on the roof,” Jongho replied, hands poised over his nunchaku. “Mingi and Yunho are by the entrance, Mirae just has to give the signal.”_

_In the other room, Mirae dropped down from the ceiling, her face covered by both the mask and the fedora, her bo staff in her hand. The rope she used to lower herself down was brought back up. Hongjoong was looking over, his rapier glinting in the sunlight. “Dropping by” She said, making the uniformed men in the room turn around. They charged towards her, and she effortlessly knocked them all out, using their own weapons against them when her staff was knocked away. The sounds of guns firing and bones cracking filled the room until there was complete silence. Mirae was standing in the middle of a pile of bodies, all of them dead and bloodied._

_She looked up at Hongjoong and gave a thumbs up. Hongjoong nodded and gave the signal to Seonghwa, whom she knew was nearby, ready to strike their target who was already on their way._

_She made a beeline for the portrait behind the desk, taking it down to reveal a safe. Mirae took out a device from her pocket and placed it on the keypad, turning the dial on the device until she heard the lock click. Mirae opened the safe, finding thick files and folders labeled “classified” as well as thick wads of money in between. Emptying the contents into their target’s bag, she tossed the bag up to Hongjoong, who caught it with the end of his sword, lowering the rope again for Mirae to climb back up._

_“Everything’s in here?” He asked as they walked away._

_“Yep. We’ll cover Seonghwa next and then we’ll get out of here,” Mirae replied, eyeing the soldiers that were about to sneak up on their colleague._

_The two of them charged towards the soldiers that were about to attack Seonghwa, who ended up firing an arrow towards the aide of their target in surprise. Mirae and Hongjoong incapacitated some and killed the others that were coming towards them._

_Yunho and Mingi attacked just as quickly upon seeing the near-ambush, while Jongho and Wooyoung joined the taller men, climbing out from the second story of the building. Seonghwa fired another shot towards their target, knocking them dead. Hongjoong, Mirae, and Seonghwa quickly joined the rest of them and they rushed out of the gates as Yunho held up a detonator, pressing the button as they jumped into the speedboat that took them there. As Seonghwa drove the boat away, the building complex exploded._

~ 

“An assault occurred in a local chain of coffee shops in the early hours of the morning, making it the second mass altercation that has occurred this month following the radical raids occurring in several establishments near the Ilsan memorial,” reported the news anchor. “Upon investigation, police found all the employees in the coffee shops dead, faces and bodies mutilated seemingly with blades and knives. No guns or traces of gun use were found.” 

San and Mirae were watching the news the next morning over breakfast. Police car sirens were blaring in the background as usual. “Another day, another gang war, what else is new” San sighed, pouring more milk into his cereal while he ate. 

“Witnesses to the scene all appear to say that the establishments were attacked by a group of men wearing masks with knives coming from their hands,” the news anchor reported. “Regarding the altercations, the police department that has jurisdiction over these shops refused to comment.” 

“Of course they’d refuse to comment, they can’t even do anything! Even we can solve this better than them” San scoffed, almost slamming his spoon on the table. 

“Can you? I’ve got a store to run” Mirae said. 

San gave his sister a look. “You know what I mean. Mirae, I really do think we can solve this better than they could” He said. “For one, we’ve got powers” He eyed her while taking a big spoonful of cereal into his mouth. “And I do mean we, because I can’t do this alone, I need you with me.” 

“Why? You’ve been working as an assassin longer than I have, you can do it on your own” Mirae said. 

“I can do it, sure, I just choose not to, and it’s a lot better if I’ve got someone with me,” San argued. “Mirae, you’ve gone after the Utopian cult with your friends, this isn’t any different,” He added. 

She stared at him, then looked back at the news. “Alright, but you think of what we’ll do first because I need to go to work,” She said, getting up to wash her dishes. San was beaming as he continued eating his food. Mirae kept thinking about the masked man she saw that night, and the dream she had later that night as she finished cleaning up after herself. She patted San on the shoulder and went back into her room. It had been a few years since those encounters, the adventure she placed herself on, and now she was going back into it four years later. 

Mirae sat down by her bed as she tried to organize her thoughts on what she was going to do for the day. She knows what happened to her, she knows what they put her through, yet the face of the man who was dying in her arms was what was sticking to her the most. It must have been the first time the extent of her powers came out, when she was at her saddest and angriest, filled with vengeance and hatred for those who killed him, whoever he was. “Jihoon, help me, you’d know what to do” She whispered to herself, glancing at the photo of the two of them on her bedside table. “Jihoon, you’d know more than anything about what I’m remembering, you’d give me advice, and now I miss you more than ever.” 

She bid San goodbye for the day later on after getting ready, slinging her bag on her shoulder as she made her way towards the door. The glinting of her staff near their shoes caught her eye and she felt the urge to bring it along with her just in case. “Just take it with you, you won’t be far anyway,” San suddenly said, having sensed what she was thinking. 

“How do you know I was thinking about bringing it?” She raised a brow at him. 

“You’re my sister, I don’t need to read your mind to know how you feel and what you’re thinking sometimes,” San smiled. “Just bring it with you, something might happen and with how dangerous this place is, it’s a miracle nothing’s hit us yet,” He added. 

“Alright then, for my and for everyone’s protection,” Mirae picked up her staff, waving its retracted form at him before stuffing it in her bag. It almost looked like she had a lead pipe with her. “You need to have a phone on you, I’m getting you one after work,” She called out before stepping out of the apartment. 

After closing the door behind her, she stopped when she saw the same man again, dressed in black with a mask and a fedora. This time, she could see his eyes clearly. Those eyes looked familiar. “Who are you?” She asked, but the man began to run away towards the darker part of the hallway. “Hey!” She called out after him, but just like what happened the night before, he seemed to vanish by the elevator. Mirae sighed. Those eyes really looked familiar, more than what he was wearing. The way he looked at her also felt familiar. 

As she entered the elevator, eventually getting off, she skidded to a halt when she saw another familiar face standing outside her building. It was impossible not to notice his otherworldly good looks that she knew very well hid a more sinister personality. It was Kang Yeosang, a vampiric mutant that thrived off of sucking the life force out of other people, other mutants, to augment his own life span and make him practically immortal. He was also one of the people behind the murder of one of the most influential business tycoons in the country, as she and San previously found out. Her hand was already in her bag, clutching her staff like a reflex. “Hello, Lee Mirae, we meet again,” He said. 

“What brings you here? Didn’t think you were the type to go out in broad daylight” She quipped, not bothering to stop walking. 

Yeosang went with her anyway. “Oh, still sore at me for getting away? I’ve been there, done that with the whole prison thing since the 1800s. I escape every time,” He said. 

“Do you mind telling me what brings you here then? I don’t think it’s because you were dying to see me again,” Mirae shot him a look. 

“No, I came to see you because I thought it is in your best interest, that you know what I know, especially about what’s been happening lately?” Yeosang glanced at her while they entered what looked like the back office of the record store she owned and operated, Empire Records. 

“Then tell me before I throw you out of here” Mirae threatened, closing the door behind them, turning on all the lights of the back room that was also her office of sorts. 

“For starters, I should tell you to prepare yourself for quite a shock, literally,” Yeosang warned, his tone suddenly shifting from his usual playful simper to a slightly more serious one. “This is all the work of the Kang family mob, I trust you remember them? They were part of that cult that killed your friend,” He said. 

It was here that Mirae stopped what she was doing. Flashes of the incident came into her mind. She looked back at the icy-blonde haired boy by the door. “Go on.” 

“Ever since the three of you? You and those two other guys you’re friends with, upturned the cult and killed its leaders, they’ve, I should say, now gone on a hunt for people like us, and no doubt, they will come after you,” Yeosang pointed out. “When they do, they will go after your brother too, and who else you might know, like your two other friends. You’re target number one, Lee Mirae.” 

“So why are you helping me? You could’ve easily turned me in, you always find your way out of things like you said,” Mirae raised a brow at him. 

“Oh come on, I may be like this, but I look out for our own, my mutant brothers and sisters are important to me, we’re the future of this world, the actual inheritors of the land,” Yeosang pointed out. “I’m not as heartless as you probably think I am.” 

“So why don’t you do something about it then? If you looked out for people like us, you undoubtedly have more power than I do, you don’t need me to do anything” Mirae pointed out. 

“Because of this next thing I will tell you,” Yeosang replied. “Somehow they still think you’re the person you used to be, Lee Mirae. The most successful mercenary they’ve ever programmed? The weapon they need? The true weapon?” 

Mirae looked away, remembering those words all too well. She heard those words before. “So, what do you expect me to do? Turn myself in or something?” 

Yeosang let out a chuckle. “I don’t expect you to do anything, but show them what you’re made of. Clearly those humans don’t know a thing about what you’re capable of, what people like us are capable of. Come on Mirae, this is going to be easy for you” He egged her on. “And your brother, if he’s tagging along too.” 

“Somehow I am finding it hard to trust you.” 

“I don’t blame you. Whether or not you trust me is not up to me to decide, but like I said, I look out for our own,” Yeosang nodded. “If I were to intervene anyway, there would be serious consequences on everyone else.” 

“Didn’t think you were the type to think about the consequences of your actions after everything you’ve done.” 

“I could say the same for you, Mirae,” Yeosang smiled. “I could very well say the same for you.” 

~ 

_The seven of them were being brought out of the electroshock room, all strapped to their beds with glazed eyes and weak bodies. The doctors stayed behind with Miran and Changseok, both of whom looked incredibly pleased. “Excellent job, Dr. Kang,” Miran smiled at the much older doctor. “They all did very well too, getting rid of that cartel,” She looked at the bag filled with files and thick wads of money._

_“Thank you, Mrs. Go,” Dr. Kang replied. “Our subjects responded exceptionally well, especially the girl. The conditioning took some work, they needed to be sentient enough to communicate with each other while also being capable of doing what they needed to do.”_

_“And because of that, your family will reap the rewards of your success,” Miran handed him the bag of money while taking out the files. “Put up that empire you’ve long wished for, the utopia we’re envisioning is starting to take shape.”_

_“Thank you, Mrs. Go,” Dr. Kang grinned. “My sons are geniuses, they can recreate some of these, you know.”_

_“Good, at least you’ve got heirs,” Changseok pointed out. “Perhaps, Mirae could stay with us, yes, I think that’s a good idea. Mirae could stay with us, we will adopt her, if you will, her biological parents don’t seem to give a damn about her anyway, that’s why she’s here. We will make her feel like a daughter to us, and when the time is right, we can unleash her to the world.”_

_Dr. Kang looked slightly skeptical. “Should her discharge be arranged?”_

_Miran nodded. “Yes, arrange for her discharge, but not until we’ve put her through some…operations. Sterilization, a few more rounds of electroshock therapy so her mind is conditioned a little better, and then her discharge,” she explained._

_“Sterilization? You mean…?” Changseok eyed his wife._

_“Yes, you know what I mean, it must be done so she could put all her focus on what we plan on making her do. She’s of no use to anyone but us. She is bound to us. We’ll make her think we’re the only ones capable of giving her a loving home.”_

~ 

That night, San came into the back room of the store, just when Mirae was closing, slinging the bag that had his harpoon gun inside. She was fixing envelopes that had the monthly pay of her few employees who worked there, all of whom had already left for home. “I figured we try and investigate the crime scenes tonight, so we know what we’re looking for,” He said. 

Mirae looked up at him and locked up the drawer that had the money. “I already know who’s behind it all,” She said quietly.

He tilted his head in confusion. “Really? Who?” 

“The Kang family. They were members of the cult that killed Jihoon,” She replied, getting up from her desk.

“How did you know the Kang family’s behind this?” San asked curiously. 

“You’ll never guess who dropped by to tell me” Mirae gave him a look. 

“…Yeosang?!” San looked taken aback. “That guy was shameless enough to come here?! It’s a good thing I wasn’t around then, because I’d have kicked his ass if I was.” 

Mirae shook her head. “I’d have kicked his ass too but we were in broad daylight so I couldn’t. But he said the Kang family’s on this rampage, on the hunt for people like us, and what they’ll want with us, they’ll most likely want us dead, and I just so happen to be target number one.” 

“Because you killed your adoptive parents?” San picked up on what she was saying, and she nodded. “Who were the leaders of the cult?” He reasoned, and she nodded again. “And now if they get to you, they’ll get to me too, won’t they? And Chanyeol, and Hyuk?” Mirae nodded again. “So, why did Yeosang tell you this then?” 

“Because they have a hand in turning me into the monster that my adoptive parents wanted me to be,” Mirae explained simply. “And Yeosang’s somewhat of a mutant-first kind of person, whatever he is, he’s lived long enough not to be one.” 

San frowned at the thought. “Then all the more reason for us to fight them then. Everyone else in the city’s caught in the middle of a grudge a crime family has on you.” 

“Which is why,” Mirae sighed. “If they want me, then they’ll have me. I have a score to settle with them anyway. They killed Jihoon, I may as well let them know what I’m thinking.” 

“And I’m coming with you,” San pointed out. “It’s a chance for the two of us to do something like this together,” a small smile crept up on his face. 

“Deal” Mirae nodded, and they stepped out of the building to enter the sidewalk. They crossed the street to where her car was parked and they got inside. As they were on their way, a nearby truck had exploded, the impact nearly shattering the windows of their own car and turning it over. 

A loud blaring of police sirens were what they heard next. “Mirae?” San broke his seatbelt off to check on his sister, who was trying to move in her seat. 

“Yeah?” Mirae groaned, the two of them trying to crawl out from under the car. “Are you okay?” 

“Yep!” San tried to reach over and help her out of her seatbelt. 

They were met with a number of emergency services crew who were helping them get out from the car. They could hear them look at the windows and doors of their car in surprise as there were hardly any dents yet there were only minor cracks on the windows. “Are you two okay? Please go to the side, the doctors will check up on the two of you” They were told. 

“What just happened? A truck just exploded, didn’t it?” Mirae muttered. 

“Yes it did, but don’t worry, the police officers and firefighters are standing by to put out the fire” Another one said, while they were being examined. 

“Why do I have a feeling that was meant to be for us?” San muttered to her. 

Mirae nodded. “I have the same feeling. They’ve gotten even more ruthless since we took them down. We’re not hurt, we’re okay” She said to the medical team examining them. 

“It does seem like it, but we’ll still have to take you two to the hospital-” 

“No, there’s really no need, we’re fine, really we are!” San assured them this time, pulling Mirae towards the scene where they were stopped by the police officers standing by to examine the truck while the firefighters were putting out the flames. 

Mirae looked at the burnt down vehicle, spotting something unusual on its tires. It was the symbol of the cult. “San, San,” She whispered, beckoning her brother to come close and see what she was seeing. 

“The Utopian cult. This really was meant for us,” He said. 

She shook her head. “For me. This was for me,” Mirae looked back at the model of the truck as if trying to see if it was familiar to her. It wasn’t. “They’re not going to stop until they’ve got me cornered somehow. We just happened to be here when it exploded.” 

“Do we still go to the crime scene?” San asked her. 

“We’ve got no choice.” 

~ 

They were back on the road to the crime scene a while later, some of the officials helping them have their car turned over, still to their surprise. As they pulled up in front of the shops that had the crime scene tape all over them, they got down, their hands both poised over their respective weapons. “You think we should’ve worn masks or something?” San whispered as they approached the scene. 

“It’s a little too late for us to do that now, don’t you think?” Mirae gave him a look as they moved under the police tape. “It’s not like you’ve cared before. Have you always worn masks on the job?” 

“Sort of yeah” San replied as they looked around, Mirae using her phone flashlight as she quietly made a beeline for the back room of the shop, but before she could open, a flash of black appeared before her with a blade. “Mirae!” San yelled, kicking and dodging what looked like a suited man wearing a domino mask and a blade sticking out of his sleeves. 

“Yep!” Mirae caught on, quickly dodging every strike the masked man made towards her. The cut on her face from the slight swipe of the blade healed completely, leaving only blood behind. “I see you’re looking for me” She groaned, catching the man in a headlock. Her eyes glowed and she kicked him away, sending him flying across the room and hitting the tables at the very corner, causing him to crash. 

San groaned as the blade pierced his arm, but he snapped the neck of the man in response to knock him off. The cut on his arm healed, but to his surprise, the man got back up again, and so did the other one who was on the table. “Oh no, this is going to take all night” He sighed, dodging the swipes they were trying to make at him with their blades. 

“Clearly,” Mirae took her staff out of her bag and extended it, hitting the man she was fighting earlier with both ends. “Mind telling me who you are?” Her staff hit the blade. 

“You are the one who betrayed the masters” The man replied, trying to get through to her. 

“Good to know you know who I am” Mirae’s eyes glowed again and she kicked the man towards the other side of the place. San’s eyes were glowing as well as he tried to choke the man who came for him until he kicked the man down to where the other was, the two masked men suddenly leaving the place. 

The glow in both of their eyes faded as they watched the masked men leave. “Well, they knew who you are, that means they were probably watching when they saw us come in here” San said. 

“I know. They followed us. Now we just have to follow them” Mirae retracted her staff and placed it back in her bag. “They were probably hoping those guys could take me in.” She slung her bag on her shoulder when she saw the tall man in the fedora again, standing at the spot where the two masked men left. San also saw what she was looking at. “Who are you? You’ve been appearing to me since last night” She called out, but to her surprise, he seemed to vanish within the shadowy part of the shop. 

San raised a brow. “That’s the one you’ve seen last night? Not a cat?” He said. “That guy’s a mutant!” He said. 

“Obviously he is. But everything about him looks and feels so familiar. From his clothes, and from the way he was looking at me. His eyes looked so familiar too, like I’ve seen them before,” Mirae sighed. “He’s been making himself known to me for some reason and he just disappears before I could get to him, and now he’s here and-” She looked down. “We can continue this tomorrow, San. Let’s go home, I’ve had enough for tonight.” 


	3. Chapter 3

_They were standing on a ledge overlooking a plain that had patches of grass, plants, and pebbles arranged in a minimalist fashion. There were two trees on both ends of the plain that seemed to bear unusual looking fruit. Mirae and Yunho removed their hats, keeping their masks on as they looked at the obstacle that was in front of them. Yunho removed his coat, his pair of sai glinting in the daylight on the belt he had on. “What do you think?” He asked, eyes fixed on the ventilator shaft at the very end of the plain._

_“It shouldn’t be too hard,” Mirae replied, their pinkies linked together for a moment before pulling away. She studied the grounds. “You go left, I’ll go right,” She muttered._

_“Got it”_

_They sprinted towards the nearest patch of pebbled ground, already sensing what the fruit in the trees were, seeing how it turned inward towards the two of them and shooting out tiny darts full of red liquid that they dodged on time. Mirae climbed up on the small hills lined with stone and tiles, ducking when she saw a sharp silver object hit both trees, knocking each of the fruits that were shooting darts._

_Yunho and Mirae looked up. Mingi was standing nearby, having caught up with them in time. He was throwing sharp blades with deadly accuracy at the trees. It was a signal for them to move faster. Mirae jumped towards the next few mounds, and Yunho held her back in time when she landed on the last one, seeing sharp blades shoot out from under the earth. She stood back up. “Thanks” She said, holding his hand tightly for support._

_The two of them gave Mingi a signal, who passed it on to the rest of their colleagues on the other side. They were tasked to assassinate the head of a company that specialized in biological warfare, and was on its way to developing new kinds of volatile ammunition. Yunho and Mirae climbed into the shaft finding themselves in the ground floor of the building._

_Quietly, they walked up to the armed guards, knocking them all out. Mirae reached into her pocket, pulling out a stack of what looked like extremely thin, round, black chips. She scattered some of the chips onto the ground as they walked down the hall, knocking out anyone who came across them until they arrived in front of giant brown doors. Yunho pressed the button, the doors opening up to reveal a lab, shelves full of beakers and test tubes filled with liquid of different colors, most of them a neon green that was almost fluorescent._

_“What about the others?” Yunho asked, as he saw Mirae take the files and folders found on the shelf at the very end._

_“They’re disposing of everyone else. No survivors” She replied, glancing at him while he placed the vials of the fluid they needed into a case on his belt._

_“Good”_

_They suddenly heard a loud siren blaring from outside the lab. Yunho turned to her as he was done. “Did they fail?”_

_“A wire must have tripped, no one fails from us” Mirae said. “We’re not up against a lot of people. Just around a hundred, these people aren’t very good.” She looked up, as if trying to listen how many guards were likely standing by on alert. Muffled shouts and groans, gunshots, and sounds of blood splattering and bones breaking could be heard from the walls._

_“Rookies” Yunho remarked, a sly smile creeping up on his face, leading the way out of the lab, seeing bodies on the floor and at the end was Jongho, his nunchaku almost dripping with blood. Wooyoung’s katanas were also dripping with blood as he stood in the far corner._

_“Guards like these are useless” Jongho muttered._

_They stepped out onto the courtyard, seeing Hongjoong sheath his rapier under his coat while Seonghwa was cleaning the blood off the tip of his bow. “Mingi’s already in the chopper, let’s go” He said to them, and they stepped over more bodies on their way out, boarding the helicopter that Mingi was driving, Mirae whistling as she walked towards the vehicle, quickly boarding when she heard a click, seeing the ground explode from under the building._

_She closed the helicopter door and sat down on the vacant seat next to Yunho, who caught the coat and hats Mingi tossed back over to them. “You forgot these” He said._

_“Thanks” Yunho handed Mirae her own hat._

_It was quiet amongst them on the way back, and Yunho’s hand reached over to hers, and they removed their masks to turn to each other. “I’ll see you later?” She whispered._

_“Yeah, maybe at dinner, we can take our medication together, I don’t have a session with Dr. Kang, we can spend time until lights out,” He murmured._

_“That would be nice,” She muttered and squeezed his hand._

~ 

Mirae bid San goodnight as he made his bed in the living room after the night they had. She cleaned up in the kitchen, suddenly remembering that she forgot to clean the training room of the mess they made in their previous sparring session the night before. Her clothes had some rips and tears from the accident and from the fight, with some blood spots in between from when her face and her arm got cut. She placed her jacket on the coat hanger, figuring that she could get rid of the stains and sew up the tears later and went back to the training room. 

She opened the door, but stepped back when she saw the tall man in black again. This time, he removed his hat and the mask that covered his nose and mouth. “Who are you and what are you doing here?” She asked. 

He approached her, but she stepped back. “Mirae, it’s me” He said. 

Mirae stared at him, the feeling of familiarity sinking in more than ever. “It’s you?” She said. 

“It is, it’s me. Mirae, don’t you remember me?” He said, moving closer towards her but like a reflex, she swatted him away. “Mirae!! It’s me!” He said. 

“If you’re working for the Kang family, nice try, you don’t fool me,” She said, and before the man could approach her any further, she kicked his legs from behind, knocking him to the ground. “I’ve had quite a day, so tell me who you are before I end up breaking every bone in your body.” 

The two of them soon engaged in a fight. “You know me!” The man yelled back, blocking each strike she attempted to make as quickly, easily matching every move she made as if he had studied her fighting style. He had an advantage because of his height, towering over her by a significant amount. 

Mirae’s eyes glowed and she shoved him, sending him flying across the training room and hitting the dummies. “Then why won’t you say your name!” She said, and he tackled her, both of them rolling back and forth to get the upper hand. 

“Because you need to say it first so you can remember! You know me, Mirae! You know this is the last thing I want to do to you but you’re leaving me with no choice!” He argued, falling to the side when she sucker punched him with the same force as the shove she gave him. He got back up on his feet. 

“Why do you know me?! How do you know my name?” Mirae rolled towards the wooden staff that was in the corner. 

“Because I know you, I know you and I love you! I promised you I’d find you when I got out of the sanitarium!” He replied, getting back up on his feet. “I would never try and hurt you, don’t you remember Morocco? Don’t you remember Budapest? The missions we had, Mirae!” He added. “Why else would I still be standing in front of you? I know your moves because I learned them too. I know your style because that’s my style too. You know me, Mirae. Remember! Say my name!” He yelled. 

The two of them engaged in combat again, fighting each other with staffs until he pinned her down on the mat. Mirae stared at him, the familiar feeling sinking in again the more she looked at his face. “You…I-I don’t remember you, but why do I feel like I do, why am I feeling this way about you?” 

“Because you do, because that means you know me,” He said, keeping her pinned down. “You know me. If you say my name, you’ll remember,” He leaned down, pressing his forehead on hers. 

Mirae could feel a twitch. The moment he leaned down on her, she suddenly saw flashes of more of her memories. It was like opening the floodgates all the way, like a switch in her head had been turned on, as if all her memories hadn’t bled through yet until that moment. 

She remembered Budapest. She remembered Morocco. She remembered him. The way he looked when she had to watch him die. 

The way they were in the sanitarium. His promises to her, swearing that he would find her when he got discharged. The way her heart broke when he died in her arms and the anger, hatred, and vengeance she felt towards the people who killed him that day. 

The way she loved him, and he loved her. She remembered it all. He was the man in her dreams, the one she had been dreaming about the past several nights. In front of her. She remembered his name. She remembered everything. 

Her eyes opened and she found herself gazing into his eyes. She couldn’t believe it, and tears were falling down the sides of her face at the realization, at all the memories, and the emotions that came with it. “Y…Yunho?” 

“Yes, it’s me, Mirae. It’s me, I’m here, with you, at last,” He whispered, his hold and his gaze on her softening, and he wiped her tears away with his sleeve. 

Mirae refused to believe that it was really him in front of her, looking at her the way he did. Her eyes glowed again and she threw him off, quickly getting up and running out of the room.

~ 

_“Mirae, how are you feeling? The sterilization operation was a success” Miran asked her in the ward that day. She said nothing after being sedated following the procedure, but she could hear her. That prompted Miran to speak again. “You’ll be getting out of here, you’ll be coming to stay with us” She said with a motherly tone in her voice. “Isn’t that amazing? You’re finally cured from your illness, Mirae, and you’ll be back in the real world.”_

_She could hear her, but she couldn’t find the strength to speak. Her mind was running with thoughts of Jihoon, who was a few wards away from her. She was thinking about him and what he might be up to at this moment. But even though she was getting discharged soon, she wasn’t sure how to feel about it. She would be leaving Jihoon behind, who was like a brother to her, who was her first friend on the day she was interned._

_Miran stood up and turned to the doctors. “I think she’s ready for one final electroshock session” She said, and in came two male nurses, who began to push her bed out of the ward. Miran glanced back at her. “It’s your last medication before you get discharged, your papers will be handed to you later, and your certificate” She said with a smile._

_She was being led down the hallway into that familiar room, passing by other familiar wards and some of the occupants in the wards were looking out at her. Wooyoung, Hongjoong, Seonghwa, Jongho, and Mingi, all of them were watching her being led towards the electroshock room and she felt an urge to speak, to talk to them but she couldn’t. They felt like her other friends yet she could tell someone wasn’t there. Where was he?_

_Mirae was brought onto the chair, a leather strap wedged in her mouth to keep her from biting her teeth off. “When this is over, you will feel so much better, isn’t it nice?” The doctor said._

_A tear fell down the side of her face as the currents entered her brain, making her bite down on the leather._

~ 

Mirae nearly woke San up when she returned to the apartment, skidding to a halt when she saw Yunho appear out of nowhere. They stared at each other, Mirae feeling the urge to drive him out of her home. She refused to believe it, refused to believe that the guy she once thought of as the love of her life, the guy whom she thought died, the guy who saw her at her absolute worst, her most merciless, her deadliest, was right in front of her. “But how?” Was all that would come out of her mouth. She was a little too tired to fight anymore. “How are you here? How are you…” She stopped. “…How are you alive?” 

Yunho took a step forward, but she made a step back. “I..I don’t know. But it’s been years, years since that time. I just know that I died then I came back, and I spent years trying to look for you, almost a decade,” He managed to say. 

“But I…I saw you die,” She said quietly, and he sensed that she was fighting the urge to break down. “You died in my arms that day…I guess I was lucky the last electroshock session seemed to erase you from my memories, or else I would’ve already beaten myself up, knowing I wasn’t able to save you when I had the power to…” 

“It wasn’t your fault. I got too ambitious that day. Those are the only things I remember now. I can’t remember what my family looked like, I can’t remember who we were with, I only remembered what we did, what we learned, I only remember you” 

Mirae stared at him. “You’re a mutant too, aren’t you? How else would you still be here?” 

“I-I don’t know,” Yunho replied. “But all I know is that I’ve been looking for you for so long because that’s what I promised to you all those years ago. I said I’d find you when I got discharged, I told you I’d come back to you, and now I have.” 

Her hand curled into a fist, and Mirae tried to fight back the tears that were in her eyes. “Prove to me that you’re you. Prove to me that you’re here, that it’s really you I’m talking to and not some clone or hound or something. Prove to me you don’t work for the Kang family as a spy of some sort,” She said. She remembered everything that Yunho said, but she still wasn’t sure. 

“I don’t know how to prove it to you, but I made you remember, didn’t I? When you called my name, you finally remembered who I was, who I was in your life” He said, taking another step forward. 

She bit her lip, trying her hardest to hold back more tears that were coming out. He was right. “What’s going on? I keep hearing raised voices” San suddenly woke up, but nearly jumped out of bed at the sight of Yunho. “Hey, you’re that guy who kept disappearing on my sister, I recognize those clothes” He said. 

“He’s-He’s the guy I told you about,” Mirae said quietly. “The guy appearing in my dreams? The one I told you about? It’s him,” She looked down. 

San’s eyes widened. “Then what’s-what’s he doing here?” He asked. 

“Long story, but I know someone who can help, kind of,” Mirae replied, unable to look at him. “Go back to sleep, San, I can handle this,” she assured him. 

He narrowed his gaze at Yunho. “Try anything on my sister, I’m kicking your ass,” He said, climbing back into his bed and clutching his stuffed animal as he closed his eyes to try and sleep again. 

“You’re finally with your half-brother,” Yunho nodded. “That’s nice.” 

Mirae nodded. “He is. He’s a mutant too.” 

“He reminded you of what he used to do, didn’t he?” He suddenly asked. 

The question made her raise a brow. “How do you know?” 

“When I touched you,” Yunho was wondering how he could say it. “When I touched you, it was like I suddenly knew what you were thinking, what you were feeling, and I don’t think I’m psychic or anything because I couldn’t read your brother’s mind, it’s like I just … knew.” He said. 

“It’s possible San also has a psychic block like I do, but-” Mirae was confused. “How you can know what I’m thinking or feeling is strange,” She looked down. “But, I still can’t know if you’re actually you and not some kind of clone or spy, whoever you are.” 

“I’m not, and you know I’m not, why else would I remember you if I was?” Yunho asked. “Clones and spies usually don’t remember feelings, especially those we had?” 

“It’s not impossible, though. The Kang family’s after me, they could be sending you because they know-” Mirae bit her lip again. “They probably know how I feel, or felt, about you. They might be using you to get to me-” 

“No one is using me to get to anyone. I came here because I was looking for you, and the first time I saw you, I wasn’t sure if it was you, but the next few times, that I was sure. You still know how to fight, you still look the same, nothing’s really changed,” He explained, frustration evident in his voice. 

“If you’re really you,” Mirae still refused to believe that it was really Yunho standing in front of her. Yet, the moment he said he knew what she was feeling, it was as if she also knew how he was feeling. She could feel his frustration, it was like he was close to begging her to recognize him. “Tell me something only I know, you said you feel like you knew what I was thinking and feeling, so tell me.” 

“Your adoptive parents were the ones who turned us into what we are.” Yunho didn’t hesitate to answer. “You’re what those friends of yours call an omega-level mutant, you-” He looked down all of a sudden. “You blame yourself for the Seoul attack and for Jihoon getting killed.” 

Mirae stared at him. No one knew it was them who got involved in the Seoul attack, no one outside of Chanyeol, Hyuk, San, Ino, and Junhong knew that Jihoon had been killed and more importantly, no one knew the leaders of the Utopian cult were her own adoptive parents. Still, she wasn’t sure of how she felt now that Yunho had somehow proved himself to be real. 

“I’m right, aren’t I? That’s what really happened since you got out?” Yunho asked, his tone a lot softer, feeling the pain she was feeling remembering everything he mentioned. Mirae just nodded. He reached out, wondering if he could put his hand on her shoulder yet being wary if she stepped back. “See? It’s really me. I can feel everything you’re feeling, I can feel how confused you are, but I also know you’re not sure whether to go near me or not.” 

Mirae kept remembering that day, when he died in her arms. How he looked that day. “I still don’t know how… how you’re suddenly here in front of me, and how you can tell how I’m feeling and how you know what I’m thinking…and how I’m suddenly dreaming about you until you touched me and made me remember.” 

This time, she allowed the tears to fall down. Yunho nodded. “I don’t know either, and I know you know there are people you can go to for an answer. If you can help me with that, I’d appreciate it. You don’t have to answer me right now, but I’ll be back when you do. I’m here now. I won’t be going anywhere.” 

He turned to leave, walking past her and into the shadowy part of the hall. “Hey,” Mirae called him. Yunho turned around. “Where can I look for you then?” She asked. 

“Just nearby. You’ll know where I am, a lot closer to you than you’re thinking,” He replied, a small smile forming on his lips. “You’ll know my thoughts. You’ll be able to find me,” and he disappeared. 

~ 

Mirae was unable to sleep, and instead stared at her cup of coffee all through the night and into the early hours of the morning. She let herself cry, overwhelmed by the flood of emotions she was feeling. It was making her question everything about her life, parts of her life she thought she made peace with, but it was like opening up an old wound. She couldn’t concentrate on what she and San had planned to do to investigate the Kang family, knowing that she was their target. 

She knew where Yunho was now, and at that moment, she felt him sleep peacefully wherever he was staying. Mirae got up to make breakfast, knowing San might wake up at any moment in case he wanted an early start. She could always tell her employees at the store that she wouldn’t be around for a few days or at least until this was over. 

The sounds and smells of bacon frying woke San up, and he was already making his bed to help out in preparing breakfast. He sensed she didn’t want to talk about what happened, but instead patted her on the shoulder while he went ahead to set the table for the two of them. 

“So, do we go back to the crime scene today? Or tonight? I think it’s better if we go at night so there’s no police around” He suggested, pouring the ready made coffee into his mug. 

“Yeah, we can check out the crime scene again tonight, but there’s also something I want to do first. Get Ino to figure out Yunho,” Mirae said, while setting down the plate of bacon and some pancakes. San quickly helped himself to some and waited for her to start eating first before he tucked in. 

“Ino? Can he be able to help?” San raised a brow. 

“He’s a stronger psychic than Hyuk. He can do a lot more, his powers are god-like, he’s the only one who could be able to figure this, figure him and me out,” Mirae muttered in between bites of her bacon. 

San observed her. “He must have brought back a lot of memories, didn’t he? The ex is back.” 

“Would he be an ex? We never officially broke up” Mirae said. 

“He died, that’s enough of a way to say you two broke up” San pointed out. “Then again, you have a point. You two never formally broke up when it happened.” 

“What do you think I should do?” She asked. 

San shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe what you said to do, I guess. Have Ino check the two of you out, see why Yunho’s alive, and why he does a disappearing act on you.”

She stared at her half-finished plate of food. “Yunho was with me, he was part of our unit, if they find out he’s alive, they might try and go after him too,” She realized. “You don’t mind we take a detour, right?” 

He smiled and shook his head. “Not at all.” 

~ 

Knowing where Yunho was staying, Mirae and San stopped at the ground floor of their building. San raised a brow as he followed her to the second unit down the hall past the landlord’s and knocked on the door. “He lives here?! Below us?!” He gaped. 

“He said I’d know where to look for him, and he let me know where he was when he left,” Mirae said, pressing the doorbell. She couldn’t say that she knew the passcode, and instead stood by to wait for him to answer the door. 

The door soon opened. Yunho was standing by, already dressed to leave. They noticed he was no longer wearing black from head to toe, and instead wore something more casual, a pair of dark jeans and a black t-shirt under a dark blue button down. “Hey” He said. 

“Hey, we’re going to Ino. He’ll figure us out” She said. 

“Good, I hope I look a lot more blended in now, wearing those clothes for two straight days was beginning to stifle me” Yunho tried to lighten the mood. 

“If it helps, you don’t look like a goth priest anymore” San commented. 

“Thanks, I guess” Yunho said, and he followed San and Mirae into the parking lot. 

~ 

Mirae drove down a familiar road, leading to a slightly more suburban part of the area and pulled the brakes in front of a wall that had a vending machine. San and Yunho looked out the window. “We’re here” She said, getting down from the car, the two men following suit. 

“Here? A vending machine?” San asked, staying close to his sister as they approached the machine. “I’m getting kind of thirsty now” He noticed the drinks on display. 

Mirae looked down at the buttons and the keypad, pressing what they saw was the “C9” button that corresponded to a blank spot on the vending machine. The machine moved forward and opened up to reveal a secret passageway that was illuminated by small string lights on the ceiling. “Hurry before this closes” She told them, going inside and the two men followed close behind before the machine moved back in place to seal the entrance. 

They stopped in front of the red door at the very end and Mirae opened it. It was the safehouse she, Chanyeol, and Hyuk went to hide from the Utopian cult’s henchmen, following their encounter at an S&M club to take down one of its members. There was a couch, a few beanbags and a flat screen television on one part of the room, a kitchen stocked with packaged food and some drinks in another part of the room, and the two doors that led to the bathroom and the sleeping quarters that only had two beds. 

The other door at the kitchen part led to the office where Ino and Junhong worked, the cramped space she remembered had one large set of computers and Ino’s desk with shelves of books that were salvaged from the collapse of the Center of Paranormal Research. Junhong’s lab materials and plans were also in the office. 

Yunho and San gaped at the sight of it all, the latter looking particularly amazed. Out from the office came a tall man wearing a suit and glasses. His name was Jang Ino, the son of the founder of the Center, who possessed god-like abilities - teleportation, telekinesis, telepathy, molecular manipulation, flight, duplication with every copy of him being sentient, near-immortality, intangibility, reality manipulation, disintegration and an ability to see things as they happen. “Hello! I was wondering when the three of you would show up,” He said. 

“Ino, I need your help,” Mirae said, partly wondering if Ino could read her mind. “To figure him and me out,” She gestured to Yunho. 

Ino turned to the taller, already beginning his process of sifting through his mind and memories. “You’re the only one who could read Mirae’s mind” He said, and Yunho nodded. “You two,” Ino glanced at Mirae. “You two came from the same place, yet,” He positioned his hands on both sides of Yunho’s face and closed his eyes. Ino’s eyes widened. “You died then you’re here.” 

“Ino looking through your mind probably stings a little, huh” San said, watching Yunho’s eye twitch a little. “I know what you mean, he did that to me once too.” 

Ino stepped back. “You’re not just any mutant, Jeong Yunho. You are, what Junhong calls-” 

“An External,” Junhong suddenly appeared, coming from the office. “Like that Yeosang guy you told me about,” He said to Mirae. 

“Yes, Yunho is an External, his immortality, his mutant gene was dormant until his death, and his awakening triggered it,” Ino explained. “I should warn you, Yunho, mutants with the same classification as you, have to tread carefully from now on, especially if you intervene in certain matters.” 

Yunho looked confused, prompting Junhong to explain. “What he means is that immortals like you tend to play god a lot, and a lot of times it doesn’t end well for people who aren’t mutants. Like myself.” 

“But you’re under our protection, though” Mirae pointed out. “You’re a big exception, including Chanyeol and Hyuk’s other friends and family,” and Junhong just smiled. 

“I-I’ve never even thought about doing those things,” Yunho looked concerned. “You’re saying I can’t die anymore, that I’ll live forever?” He asked, and the two nodded. 

“That’s what being immortal is,” Junhong said. “Based on my research, only an immortal can kill an immortal, but that doesn’t mean your mutant powers are just as strong as your lifespan.” 

“Okay, so, what about the mind-reading,” Mirae asked. “How is it that he can read my thoughts, feel what I feel, and you can’t?” She glanced at Ino. 

Ino studied their expressions and smiled. “Mirae, I know this is going to sound incredibly lame, but, have you ever believed in soulmates?” 

“Soulmates? The reason why Yunho and I can somehow know how both of us are feeling and thinking is because of…that?” She looked taken aback. San looked just as shocked while Yunho looked relieved, almost happy about the realization. 

“Well, it seems that both of you share a psychic bond, probably triggered by the mutant gene in Yunho during his awakening. Whatever brought on the bond is a mystery, then again how people like us exist is a mystery in itself,” Ino chuckled. 

“That’s already Ino hyung trying not to sound sappy” Junhong snorted. “But it seems to be the case. He still can’t read your mind and he’s already very powerful, but somehow only Yunho could.”

San exchanged looks with Junhong and Ino. “So, what now? While we’re here, we could also use some help in finding the Kang family.” 


	4. Chapter 4

_Mirae stood in line at the cafeteria, her tray in hand as she watched the staff in charge of lunch serve them food. The little cup filled with different colored pills that had her name on it was placed on the far corner of her tray when she gave her name. She never really took the pills, yet the nurses who caught her faking it forced it down her throat, almost sedating her at times. Muttering a thank you when the lunch staff placed a serving of soup, rice, kimchi, and whatever the special was for the day, she looked around the room for a vacant seat._

_“Over here!” She noticed Jihoon waving at her. He was sitting next to a taller male, devouring his food as if he hadn’t eaten the whole morning. “Mirae! Sit here with us!” Jihoon called out to her. She approached the table, sitting across from Jihoon and across the taller. “Mirae, this is Yunho, Jeong Yunho,” Jihoon pointed to the tag on his wrist. “Yunho, this is my best friend Mirae, Lee Mirae” He introduced her this time._

_Yunho only nodded, eyeing her in between spoonfuls of rice. “Nice to meet you too,” She said quietly, tucking in to eat as well. “Wrongly interned too?” She asked, in an attempt to make conversation with him._

_“More or less. They said I was prone to nervous breakdowns, or whatever that is they said,” Yunho muttered. “I don’t really pay attention to what the doctors say.”_

_“What a coincidence, so do we,” Jihoon chuckled, picking at the last of his rice on his plate._

_“What are you wrongly interned for?” Yunho asked her._

_“My parents told the staff I exhibited violent tendencies, throwing stuff, a personality disorder of some sort, but I know it isn’t like that,” Mirae admitted. “We’re essentially just taking up space here if we’re sane.”_

_“We are, everyone else is suffering, while we’re here because the people who are supposed to take care of us decided that we’re not worth caring for,” Yunho agreed, putting his spoon and chopsticks down._

_“You could hang out with us if you’ve got no one to hang out with,” Jihoon suggested._

_“Thanks,” Yunho replied, glancing at Mirae again._

_Their heads whipped around at the loud crashing sound from the other side of the room. Two guys were about to get into a fight over the dessert. The shorter one seemed to shove the much taller one hard against the table, making it fall over. “Ah, Choi Jongho, Song Mingi,” they heard the male nurses approach the two to hold them back from each other._

_“Always at the dessert table. Maybe we should slip sedatives in the food,” They overheard one nurse say to another. “All this roughhousing coming from the same group of people.”_

_“I suddenly don’t feel like eating anymore,” Mirae shook her head, putting her spoon down and holding up the cup that had the pills._

_They soon noticed both Jongho and Mingi were escorted out of the cafeteria, the two of them looking as if they were about to collapse. “They’ll do the same to you if you don’t drink those pills,” Yunho said._

_“That’s never stopped them from trying to sedate me during my first few months here,” Mirae shrugged, sensing that some of the nurses standing by were watching her. With an exhale, she drank the pills._

_Yunho and Jihoon watched her. Jihoon moved a little in case she would fall over when the drugs would sink in. Yunho reached for her hand, as if to let her know he was going to catch her once she felt the lethargic feeling sink in from the strength of the medicine she took. His hand moved further to her wrist “You okay?” Jihoon asked softly._

_“Mhmm, I’m fine” She replied, staring at the now-empty cup and then at Yunho’s hand on her wrist. He let go, but grabbed onto her wrist again when she leaned over her tray. The drugs had set in quickly._

_Jihoon got up and so did Yunho, the two of them bringing Mirae out of the cafeteria. “I guess she’s always like this whenever it’s meal time, isn’t it?” Yunho glanced at Jihoon as they walked her down the hall._

_“Yeah, by orders of her father, giving her strong stuff,” Jihoon frowned at the thought, remembering what she told him. “Sooner or later she’s going to get immune to it, but that just means they’ll have to give her even stronger stuff, or worse. Sometimes I think her own father’s trying to kill her with the medicine they’re making her take.”_

_“Does her father own this place?” Yunho asked curiously._

_Jihoon shook his head. “But he’s supposedly some prominent medical, psychological expert. At least that’s what Mirae told me when she first came here,” He explained. He wanted to say more about her, something Yunho probably should know if they were going to keep hanging out. Yet, he stopped, figuring she’d tell him herself in time._

_Yunho stopped to stand in front of Mirae. Jihoon helped her on his back, the taller male now carrying her towards her room. They opened the door and laid her down. “How long will she be like this?” He asked._

_“Until dinner,” Jihoon replied knowingly. “We could only talk to her at that time, they give her another dose of that after she eats.”_

_“No wonder they have to force her, they knock her out like this,” Yunho said, looking back at her. Before they left the room, he took the blanket draped on one side of the bed and placed it over her._

~ 

San, Mirae, and Yunho were sitting on the couch, waiting for Junhong or Ino to at least point them in the direction of the Kang family. Mirae couldn’t look at the taller male. Somehow she had trouble processing the fact that of all people who could read her mind, feel her emotions, it was Yunho. Yunho knew this, knew what was running through her head yet chose not to say anything. 

“You know, I’m starting to feel like an awkward third wheel now,” San side-eyed Mirae and Yunho, who were staying quiet. Even with everything Mirae told him about Yunho, San still felt wary. There would still be things Yunho wouldn’t say or think that they’d find out. 

Mirae shook her head. “There is no third wheel, there’s no wheel, at least I know there’s no wheel.” 

_I do._ She heard Yunho think. _I do think there’s a wheel. It just stopped turning for a while, you think there’s a wheel too._

Just then, Ino appeared in front of them. “So, the Kang family’s after you. Junhong traced the truck to a nearby construction company, possibly another business front of the family,” He explained. “It’s called K-Construction. We’ll give you the address, you can probably track them down from there. Unless you’re thinking of going on a killing spree, be careful. The world doesn’t take too kindly to people like us?” 

Mirae nodded. “We’re going back to the crime scene tonight to see if there’s something they left behind for me. If they did that to a truck, they’d have left something in those cafes and stores.” 

“You should be careful too, Yunho,” Ino warned. “If they find out you’re alive, and I’m sure they probably do, they might try and do something even more awful,” He turned to San this time. “Same goes for you. If they know who you are, they’ll try and kill you.” 

“I am aware of that. I’m not sure if they’re aware it’ll take a while before they can really kill me,” San looked a little smug. 

“Can’t you help me?” Mirae asked him. 

Ino smiled. “I already am.” 

“But you can do so much more than me, you can help end this in seconds,” She pointed out. 

“I know, but this is something that only you can take on, not me. My own powers give me more responsibility now, to use them in something like this is going to lead to something bad, I might make things worse,” Ino looked at her apologetically. 

Mirae was feeling overwhelmed again, and Yunho felt it as he glanced at her with concern all over his face. “Okay then. Thanks for still being around all the same,” She stood up and hugged Ino tightly. 

“You’ll be okay, Mirae. I believe in you,” Ino whispered to her. “You need to make peace with this. You need to let him in again.” 

“I know. I know on both things,” Mirae whispered back, and Ino patted her on the shoulder. “You believe in me too much, you know.” 

“You’re an omega-level mutant. Your powers are just as strong as you are. Remember that,” Ino said, the smile still on his face. “Besides, you’ve done this before, you can do it again.” 

~ 

“So, where next? We’ve got hours before it gets dark and we can go back to the crime scene,” San asked her as they were back on the road again. 

“I guess we can go to the construction company the truck came from. There’s not much else to do about this,” Mirae shrugged, looking over at the directions the GPS was giving her on where to turn. 

“I’m going with you,” Yunho suddenly said. “I’m answering that question you’ve been thinking about, I’m going with you.” 

San raised a brow, while Mirae glanced at him from the mirror. “You know, I’m getting a little bothered by the fact that you keep trying to read my sister’s mind,” He said. 

“Sorry, but knowing what’s at stake here, I just can’t stay away, I want to make things right, however that seems,” He muttered, watching Mirae drive. 

“You realize that you’ll become a pawn to them, right? They thought you were dead, but if they find out you’re alive, and they’re coming after me, and as I said, if they knew how we used to be,” Mirae paused. “If they know who you are in my life, just like if they know who San is, they’ll hurt you.” 

“It doesn’t matter,” Yunho shook his head. 

San turned to her. “He’s made up his mind. So much for it being something we’re doing together,” He frowned in his seat. 

“We’re still doing this together, San, he’s tagging along,” Mirae tried to say. “You’re the one who suggested we do this anyway.” 

She made another turn, driving down a long way until they arrived in front of a shabby-looking building that looked like it needed a new coat of paint on the outside. There were trucks parked at the far end of where the building was, in what looked like a large garage. Mirae parked the car a little past the building. “I wish I brought my sai along with me,” Yunho muttered, looking back at the place. 

“You still have yours?” Mirae asked. 

“I never lost it,” He shook his head. “I just forgot it. You still have your staff, I see.” 

“Junhong upgraded mine. Let’s go, San, bring yours,” Mirae glanced at her brother, who nodded, grabbing his bag that had the gun. 

The three of them got down the car, hearing music being played from a distance. “I should have placed this on a belt or something,” San muttered, feeling the blade grab onto the bottom of his bag as they approached the building. Mirae’s hand was already in her bag, gripping her staff. She had a feeling of what they might see when they entered. 

They stopped at the front door and rang the doorbell. “Is someone in here?” Mirae looked into the clear doors while ringing the bell again. She looked up at the corners of the entrances. There were CCTV cameras. The door opened, and they entered. 

What are we looking for here? She heard Yunho say in her head. 

We’re looking for an address, the address of the Kang family, she replied, sensing Yunho nod to himself behind her. 

They saw a woman at the front desk speaking to someone on the phone through her headset. “How are we going to ask for the address?” San muttered to her. 

“I don’t know, I’ll figure it out,” Mirae shrugged as they went closer. “Excuse me,” She said, waving a hand in front of the woman when they approached the desk. 

“Oh, I’m so sorry, how may I help you?” The woman said upon hanging up. 

“I was told the truck that exploded yesterday night came from this company,” Mirae explained. “My brother and I were hit, our vehicle that is, with us in it, so we’d like to speak to your boss? I think we’re entitled to some compensation especially since it was a vehicle from this company,” She said. 

“Our boss?” The woman seemed unable to speak. 

“Yeah, your boss. Our car did get damaged, doesn’t matter if it was minor or major, the explosion from the truck caused us to turn over from the impact” San spoke. 

“Do you have proof? I think Mr. Kang will require proof that it was your vehicle that got damaged from the explosion” The woman asked, and Mirae and San sensed that her expression somehow stiffened. 

“I do, you can ask the police or look at the articles online about the car that crashed from the truck explosion,” Mirae pointed out. “If that’s not enough, I’ve got papers from the auto company,” She said. 

“What’s going on? Is something wrong?” A few men suddenly appeared, coming from the offices down the hall. 

“They were asking to speak to Mr. Kang about compensation,” The woman explained. “Their car was part of the accident when one of our trucks blew up,” Mirae, San, and Yunho noticed the slight shift in the way she said it. 

“Oh, one of our trucks, eh?” One of them smirked and reached into his pocket. He brandished a gun, and so did his colleagues. “Finally, Lee Mirae, I’ve got you. Mr. Kang and his sons have a bounty on your head, you know, they want your head on a platter and I’m going to give it to them. With a few extras too.” 

Mirae, San, and Yunho took a step back, making them point their guns at them even more. They heard footsteps outside. They were being surrounded. “I can’t say I was surprised,” She said, reaching into her bag again. 

“Hands off your bag, what are you doing?” The larger man from the group barked at her. 

To San and Yunho’s surprise, Mirae only brought out a deck of cards. “Why don’t we settle this with a game?” She asked, shuffling the deck with a flourish. San was unable to hide how impressed he was, while Yunho’s eyes widened slightly as he figured out what she was about to do. 

“Do you think we’ve got time for games? Put those away and say your last words” They threatened. 

Mirae kept shuffling her cards in her hand. “You know, I think your bosses left out one tiny detail about me when they put a price on my head,” She said. Her eyes suddenly glowed. “I’m a mutant,” and with another flourish of the cards she aimed it at the group in front of her, sending them crashing into the wall at the end. San brought out his harpoon gun, his eyes glowing as well. “We’ll question one, injure the rest… as much as possible,” She muttered. 

The crowd of employees from outside began to spill in, and Mirae, Yunho, and San attacked each one. San nearly skewered three people at once as the blade from his harpoon glowed, making each of them explode before San pulled the blade back onto his gun while kicking and punching others. 

Yunho did the same, breaking the limbs of those who came his way and Mirae’s. Redirecting the shots, Yunho threw others off, hitting a few like bowling pins. Mirae hit several others with her staff, her eyes still glowing red as she tapped the ground with one end, a wave of energy hitting the crowd in front of her while making San and Yunho nearly fall over. 

“I can blow up this place if none of you tell me where your boss lives” Mirae said. 

The crowd got up and tried to attack her again, and this time a stronger shockwave came when she hit the side of her staff onto the ground. San and Yunho fell over this time, with the former noticing one of them, a much younger man, trying to run away. He aimed his gun and shot at him, impaling his leg. San’s eyes glowed and the man fell to the ground, making him jerk and yelp.

Yunho and Mirae looked back at the crowd. They were all incapacitated at some point, and they knew that a few were most likely dead. “The police will go crazy if they see this,” Yunho muttered. 

“It had to be done,” She noticed one of them move slightly. “At least we tried not to kill anyone, tried.” 

San smirked in satisfaction when he pulled back the harpoon that had the man attached to the blade. “We’ve got a few questions for you, buddy,” He said, bending down to take the blade out. Some blood had squirted out from where the blade came from, almost splattering his face. “You mind telling us where your boss is? Mr. Kang?” He asked. 

“I don’t know where he is!” The man yelped, cowering when Yunho stood on the other side, blocking him from moving away. “I swear! I really don’t know where he is!” 

“Are you sure? My brother here can kill you if you’re lying,” Mirae said, and the man stared at them in horror when both hers and San’s eyes glowed. “Where is Mr. Kang? He’s going through all this trouble to look for me anyway, I might as well be the one to go to him,” She added. 

“Answer her question,” Yunho prodded. 

“I don’t know where he is, no one in the company knows where Mr. Kang lives, but I’ve heard talks from the other guys in that office,” The man sputtered. “They would go meet the executives from the Kang Organization at this restaurant,” He stammered, still staring at their glowing eyes in horror. 

“What’s the name of that restaurant?” San asked this time. 

“I don’t know-I don’t know-Please don’t hurt me!” The man pleaded. 

“Are you sure? Nothing else you overheard?” Mirae stared at him, blinking slowly. The man looked at her in horror when he saw her eyes had turned black. Yunho tried to stifle the surprise on his face when he saw her as well. 

“I think-I think-I think it was, Sky Sushi or something, they always mentioned eating sushi a lot! They even get people to order from that place! That’s all I know-please! That’s all I know!” The man begged. 

“You won’t tell anyone about this little encounter, right?” Yunho asked, bending down. “That other leg of yours looks a little lonely,” He tilted his head to the blade of San’s harpoon gun. 

“I won’t tell anyone! I swear on my life I won’t tell anyone!!” They begged. 

Mirae’s eyes turned back to normal, the glow on San’s eyes disappearing as well as the three of them stood back up and walked back to the car. 

“Fucking bitch” 

Mirae took San’s harpoon gun and fired it at the man’s other leg, piercing through the skin and bone. The man yelped in pain. “Bleed to death then!” She called out, pulling the blade back. 

~ 

_Yunho crept into Mirae’s room that night, dodging past the nurses who were making the rounds. The lights were dimmed down, and she was in bed, possibly knocked out from the medicine forced into her. She was lying on one side of the single bed, and he joined her, kneeling in front of the other side, where she was facing. “Mirae?” He kept his voice low in case the nurses would hear him._

_“Yunho?” She mumbled, and he put a finger to her lips. “What are you doing here?”_

_“I couldn’t sleep, and I couldn’t stand seeing you like this,” He admitted._

_“So you went here to see me when I’m like this?” She managed to say._

_Yunho shook his head. “You know what I mean.”_

_“I do,” She nodded slightly. Mirae reached out to him. “Lie down with me. If you don’t mind.”_

_A small smile appeared on his face and he slid in, lying down next to her. He turned to face her. “All this time I was here, I somehow only knew the world was bad, but after meeting you, I realize it’s not all like that.”_

_“Do you feel like your heart swells sometimes?” She murmured. “That’s how I feel whenever I see you, and the way you smile at me, and the way you look at me,” Mirae slurred. “Keep smiling if you do.”_

_“I could do more than that if you want me to,” He said, moving a little closer._

_“Really? You could?” She asked._

_“I could. I could,” Yunho reached down to her hand and held it, their fingers laced together. “I could kiss you too, if you’d allow me.”_

_“I would,” She said._

_Yunho leaned over and pressed his lips against hers in a soft kiss. He pulled away, resting his forehead on hers. “This too, I could do.”_

_“Keep doing it, then,” Mirae whispered, a slight blush on her cheeks at his actions. “I feel my heart swelling again, must be because of you.”_

~ 

“Sky Sushi,” Mirae turned a corner, glancing at the GPS as she drove. “That’s near that very upscale neighborhood, isn’t it?” She mused, glancing at Yunho from the mirror. She knew he was longing to say something, and instead tried to make her remember that one night at the sanitarium, when they admitted how they felt about each other. 

“Seems like it, whoa, look at those cars,” San sat up, noticing the very high-end vehicles lining up the lot of the restaurant. 

“Do we go in there now or something?” Yunho asked. 

“We can try, but it’s getting late,” San realized how long they were traveling when he looked at the time. “That place closes early though, surprisingly early.” 

“We’ve got all the time to go to them tomorrow. So far we’re a step closer,” Mirae said quietly, now avoiding Yunho’s gaze as she kept remembering their moments together in the past. “For now, we can go get dinner before we go home.” 

“Let’s just go home. We can just order it,” San suggested and Mirae drove ahead. 

Soon enough, they were back at their building, noticing how the store was closed. “I’ll make sure to bring my sai along with me tomorrow,” Yunho said, bidding them goodnight. He gave Mirae a knowing look, a small smile on his face before he entered his apartment, leaving the two of them to go back up. 

It must have been the adrenaline, from all the fighting that for a moment, got rid of the overwhelming feeling of remembering everything again. Ino’s advice also seemed to add on to the overwhelming feeling. _You need to make peace with this. You need to let him in again._ His advice resounded in her head, and she knew that Ino read his thoughts and knew how he was feeling, and in turn, Ino would know how she felt. 

“You can order whatever you want, San, I’ll take a shower” Mirae said as they stepped inside their home, taking their shoes off. She hung her bag that had the cards and her staff, San doing the same with his bag that had the blanks and the harpoon gun. 

“Chicken it is. One fried, one seasoned?” San glanced at her. 

“Yep” Mirae replied blankly, trudging towards her room and combing back out later with a towel and her clothes. The water soon washed over her, ridding her skin of the dried blood on her face, her hands, and her legs. Flashes of the missions came back to her. The body count she must have had, and there was no telling if a lot of those were guilty or innocent. Even if they were in a unit, remembering those missions, including the things she would say. No survivors. 

She looked down at her hands. Her hands were now clean, yet she felt like the blood never went away. There was blood on her hands, and it felt like it wouldn’t come off. Mirae leaned against the wall, feeling hot tears fall down her cheeks as she rubbed her hands until she gave up, covering her face as she sobbed into them. How is this making peace with what has happened? She thought to herself in the hopes of trying to make the overwhelming feeling go away. 

Maybe Ino knew she never completely made peace with it, maybe Ino told her that because she needed to forgive. Not her adoptive parents, but herself. She didn’t deserve to be forgiven, not after everything she had done, so why should she even have to do that to herself? 

~ 

Hours later and she cleaned up after their dinner, seeing San already preparing to go to sleep with his dog plushie. Mirae didn’t feel like sleeping just yet, still feeling the heaviness that was coming along with being a step closer to facing the people who helped turn her into what she was. She didn’t feel like spending an hour in the training room, not when she had already showered. Yet, even with the day they had, she felt restless. 

She wanted to feel better, even just for a moment. Even just for a night where she didn’t have to think about the gravity this whole situation had on her. Mirae glanced at the door, mentally debating on whether or not to go, to leave and to the one other person she knew was awake. The only other person who kind of understood everything, including her. It might be a mistake, but her life was far too upside down now. She was already down the rabbit hole. 

In moments, Mirae was already standing at the door of Yunho’s apartment. She rang the bell, not wanting to let herself in. There had always been a wheel. 

The door opened and before either of them could register anything, Mirae had kissed him, tiptoeing to reach his height and her arms were around his neck. Yunho brought her inside and kicked the door closed behind them. “Are you sure?” He mumbled, leaning back in for another. 

“Yes. Yes I’m sure, and I don’t want to think about it any further, please?” She whispered, her voice a little shaky. “I just want this to go away, and you’re the only one who understands.” 

“I do,” Yunho kissed her again, arms tightly around her waist. 


	5. Chapter 5

_“When you get out of here, find me, okay? The two of us, it’ll be the two of us from now on when we get out, okay?” Mirae told Jihoon in the hall. She had her bags with her, discharge papers and her certificate in hand as she bid a lot of people goodbye, including the staff. She hugged him tightly, as if trying to hold back her tears at the thought of leaving her best friend, who was almost like the brother she never had, in a place like the sanitarium._

_“Can you come by and visit? Or call me if you can, okay?” Jihoon hugged him back just as tightly, almost like he didn’t want to let go. Neither of them didn’t._

_“I will, I promise you I will. I’ll take care of you when you get out of here, it won’t be long now,” She assured him, blinking back the tears that were beginning to well up in her eyes. “I’ll be nearby, look,” She pulled back a little and held up the piece of paper that had her address. “I’ll just be near. It won’t be long now, Jihoon, you’ll get out soon.”_

_“Mirae, your taxi is waiting,” One of the nurses said._

_With a deep breath, Mirae and Jihoon let go of each other. Tears were streaming down Jihoon’s face as he watched her, while Mirae wiped her eyes quickly before the tears would fall down hers. She waved to everyone and at Jihoon, constantly making the gesture to come find her._

_She stepped out of the building, the sunshine casting a light over her surroundings. Even though things were as it has always been, Mirae felt like she had never seen what the rest of the city looked like. A mix of anxiety and wonder at what the world was going to be to her from now on._

_Her taxi was already parked outside, and with careful steps, she approached the vehicle. Taking one last look at the building, looking through the entrance to see Jihoon’s face one more time, she waved at him again, before opening the door and getting in._

_“Where to?” The taxi driver asked, looking over at her._

_“Uh,” Mirae read what was on the piece of paper that she had. “Empire Records?” She said._

_The taxi driver nodded and released the brakes, driving them away from the building. Mirae was going to stay with people who were going to take care of her from now on, or who would at least be willing to put a roof over her head even at her age. She could barely remember what her own birth parents looked like, much less her siblings, half or otherwise. She sat back, anticipation welling up inside her at what was going to be her life moving forward._

_Where would she work? She’d need to get a job. Would she go to school? She’d also need to learn a lot of things. Either way, many questions were running through her head the farther away she was becoming from the sanitarium. It didn’t even occur to her to be scared, scared of the possibility that someone somewhere might be deciding to force feed pills down her throat, or if she was going to be brought someplace else for an electroshock session. Somehow she felt at peace, knowing that she was out of there, and knowing that she’ll be able to take care of Jihoon in time. Jihoon would become her reason to make a life for herself even under the care of someone else._

~ 

The sun shone through the windows of Yunho’s bedroom, hitting Mirae in the face. Clothes were strewn all over the floor, serving as a reminder of what transpired in the late hours of the night. She turned a little, keeping herself covered, seeing Yunho’s sleeping figure, his jet-black hair matted and he was just as covered as she was from the air conditioning above them. Mirae sighed, recalling how everything happened. 

Neither of them had done it before, and now they had, and for a moment she felt better. Now, the confusion settled in again. She noticed the towel hanging on his bedpost on her side of the bed, and the bathrobe that seemed to be used. They must have taken a shower together after having done it. It was evident from how strong the scent of the shampoo was in her hair and from the soap she used on her body. 

It dawned on her that it must not have been that long even if it felt otherwise. There was also a towel hanging on Yunho’s side of the bed, confirming what she was thinking. It was almost as if they were in a daze last night, from how she recalled what they did. Yet they slept without clothes on rather than get dressed again. 

“Go back to sleep,” She heard Yunho murmur, his eyes half-open to look at her. 

Mirae closed her eyes, allowing herself to try and fall back asleep. San must have been looking for her at this moment. 

“Try and relax, go back to sleep,” Yunho said again, reaching for her hand to hold and squeezed it. “Let San sleep in too.” 

“Are you reading my mind again?” 

“It’s morning, I’m too sleepy to control it,” Yunho replied, almost whining in tone yet his voice remained groggy. “Just go back to sleep. Try not to think about anything, please, Mirae,” He said, moving over to drape himself over her in an attempt to keep her from moving away or getting up. 

Mirae carefully pushed his hair away from his face, getting a whiff of the same shampoo. This time she was reading his mind, and she realized he kept recalling the events of last night, as well as how she looked to him while fighting off the guys from yesterday, and how surprised he was at the change in her eyes from glowing red to black. The more she read his mind, the more she saw what he was telling her about. 

Everything else was like a blur to him except her. It was as if her face was the only clear thing he saw and remembered, everything else was fuzzy despite flashes of it being very clear. Now she was sure. Now she really knew and felt that it was him. Yunho was really back. Overcome with emotion, Mirae wrapped her arms around him to hold him close. “Took you long enough,” He mumbled. 

“I-I guess I just needed to read your mind,” She whispered, making him look up at her. “I don’t know why I didn’t do that sooner.” 

“You wanted to be sure in other ways,” He said. “Now can you please go back to sleep? I know you haven’t slept properly in a while,” He whined, burying his face in the crook of her neck. 

“How can I? I keep thinking of what we’re planning to do today.” 

“I know, but we just had-”

She put a finger to his lips. “You go to sleep.” 

~ 

Mirae returned to see San already clearing up his dishes. “What happened to you? You went out early?” He asked upon seeing her. 

“I didn’t go anywhere, just downstairs,” She replied. 

Her response made San’s ears perk up. He turned to her, raising a brow. “Downstairs? You went to Yunho?” He asked. 

“Yeah, we just kind of-” 

“Talked? Define talked? Like talked-had a conversation that somehow lasted all night? Or talked… as in the opposite that still lasted all night?” San looked at her suspiciously. Mirae gave him a look. “Oh, nope, nope, nope- I don’t want to know, I know we’re both adults but no, no, no, I don’t want to know-” He kept shaking his head as he washed the dishes with a disgusted look on his face all throughout. 

“Then don’t ask. Did you cook anything?” Mirae approached the table. 

San looked at her like she had grown two heads. “I mean the sexual tension between the two of you is one thing, knowing that he didn’t even bother cooking you breakfast after you two had a night together is another” He said, sounding pained as he continued washing his dishes. 

“I left before he offered, and go get ready, we’ll visit Sky Sushi today” She said, throwing the tea towel at him before he left the kitchen. 

“But what does that mean? Are you two back together?” He asked. 

“I-I don’t know, we never really decided on it, we didn’t talk about that last night,” She shrugged, pouring herself a bowl of cereal instead. She quietly got dressed and left without another word, except a few stolen kisses from Yunho, who already knew what she was thinking. They didn’t need to say anything now, not when they could simply think about it to let each other know. That was the advantage of a psychic bond, but it made Mirae understand what Hyuk would go through everyday. 

“You did say you didn’t really talk-” San pointed out. 

“Yes, we didn’t really talk, but he can read my mind, and this morning I read his,” Mirae admitted, pouring milk into her bowl next. “Anyway, we’ll get ready after this, go to Sky Sushi? That’s the only place we’re going to today, unless we find a lead.” 

San nodded, positioning his plushie on the center of the couch, nearly jumping in surprise when he saw Yunho appear from the dark hallway of the apartment. “You-You scared the crap out of me!” He yelled, making Mirae look up from her meal. “…You teleport?!” 

“Yeah, but only in dark places. I can’t teleport right now, but if I go back in there, I could,” He nodded. Yunho glanced at Mirae and smiled. He was already dressed to leave, and she could tell he now had his pair of sai in his belt under his jacket. 

“If we had known about it sooner, you could’ve saved us the travel time,” San frowned. 

“If we were often doing this at night, I probably could, but I can’t, and we’ve got all day,” Yunho pointed out. 

“Yunho’s right, we do have all the time today, we’ll need it to go after more leads after we get there,” Mirae said quietly. 

“You two hook up last night and all of a sudden you’re going “we” on me,” San grumbled as he slumped down on the couch. He looked up at them. “What do you think we’ll find there at Sky Sushi?” He asked. 

“Probably an address, business people usually drop their calling cards at the door, right? We could sneak in the back office if there is any. If we’re lucky we could catch them right there,” Mirae mused, bringing her bowl to the sink to wash up. 

There was a knock on the door and a ring of the doorbell, making the three of them look. Yunho approached the monitor to see who it was. There was no one, yet the doorbell kept ringing. San and Mirae exchanged looks before approaching the door and looking through the peephole. His expression stiffened when he realized who it was and opened the door. “Great, it’s Yeosang,” He walked off. 

“And a good morning to you too,” Yeosang grinned as he walked in further, stopping when he saw Yunho. “So it’s you I’ve been sensing,” He said. 

“Me?” Yunho looked confused. 

“Your awakening. We Externals can sense each other’s presence, it’s an immortal thing,” Yeosang winked at Mirae. “My name is Yeosang, Kang Yeosang.” 

“Yunho, Jeong Yunho” The taller replied. 

“You don’t even have a reflection, you couldn’t be seen by the monitor,” Mirae glanced at the tiny screen again and back at Yeosang. 

“Vampiric qualities, I’m afraid. But I do eat actual food, blood’s actually disgusting,” Yeosang pointed out, seeing Yunho’s surprised expression. “I am rather partial to chicken and sweets. I only suck the life and energy out of people when I want to or when necessary.” 

“It adds to his lifespan, that’s why he’s immortal, he’s been sucking lives out for centuries,” She side-eyed him. 

“You make it seem like I’m that old, just one and a half century old” Yeosang smiled slyly. “So, how is the case solving? Kill anyone yet?” 

“Why does it feel like you want to see me kill people?” Mirae asked. 

“Because that’s what you’re capable of, my dear, my Mirae,” He walked up to her. Yunho cleared his throat. “It’s okay, I’m not going to kill your girlfriend, I just wanted to see her at her most powerful.” 

“How did you-” Yunho was about to ask. 

“News sort of travels fast. Don’t worry though, I’m not the only External out there. Some of them, actually, live way up in this isolated world close to the mountains,” Yeosang said. 

“You’ve met them?” San raised a brow. 

“Of course I’ve met them, well, him, but the company he keeps are just as powerful, Mirae would probably know a few of them,” Yeosang glanced at her again, looking at her knowingly. “But that’s a story for another time.” 

“So, what are you doing here?” Mirae asked. 

“I came here to tell you that I would like to help,” Yeosang revealed. 

Mirae and San stared at him. “…Come again?” San spoke this time. 

“I would like to help. You will be going to Sky Sushi today, right?” 

“Yeah” They nodded. 

“Sky Sushi’s a high-end restaurant. There’s an event tonight that’s why they closed early last night. Only the creme de la creme are invited. Tables are booked six months in advance, and I just so happen to be invited to the said event” Yeosang took out a blue velvet pouch and from the pouch was a gold necklace that had an hourglass. “Some kind of launch for a watch line they’re cooking up.” 

“The guy we found this out from told us bosses from their businesses meet with the executives of the Kang Organization at that restaurant for dinner,” San pointed out. 

“That’s because they own that restaurant,” Yeosang replied. “Apart from K-Construction, nice work by the way, the harpoon to the guy’s legs was a nice touch. He bled, but not before I killed him.” 

Mirae stared at him. “You were following us.” 

“I told you I wanted to help. Mutants first, remember?” Yeosang reminded her. 

“What are you anyway? How’d you get invited to the event tonight?” San was trying to process everything they were hearing from him. 

“It doesn’t matter what I do for a living, Sannie,” Yeosang grinned, making San roll his eyes. “But I am invited, and the three of you will be associates. I’ve got a table reserved. Anyway, I should be going. Oh, and it’s black tie, so concealed weapons better fit, especially in whatever you’re thinking of wearing,” He glanced at Mirae before letting himself out. 

San grumbled and sat back down on the couch. Yunho turned to Mirae. “Well, now I know why Ino says immortals tend to play god, that Yeosang guy seems like he does.” 

“Do we really have to trust him?” San looked up at them. 

“Well, he did point us in the direction of our investigation, I don’t think we have a choice. Yeosang could kill me, you, and even Yunho, remember?” Mirae shrugged, feeling unsettled by the plan. She wondered if she could really trust Yeosang despite the tips he gave. 

~ 

_The seven of them were walking through the snow-covered forest, all of them with their weapons in hand as they trudged towards an old cathedral. They were far away from home, in another country, in another continent. They successfully shot down their target’s aerial vehicle, seeing it land several meters away from where they last stood._

_“Guards are coming,” Seonghwa told them before climbing up the nearest tree. The rest of them did the same. He took out his bow and arrow, ready to aim at the nearest guard standing by. Hongjoong had already brandished his rapier, while Mingi had an axe ready._

_Mirae observed the movements of the group from where she perched herself on. Her eyes glowed red slightly as she looked on. To her surprise, some of the grenades attached to some of the guards had detonated, causing bloody explosions within the group. She looked down, blinking a few times making the glow disappear. “Who would be stupid enough to detonate those grenades on themselves?” Yunho muttered._

_“Apparently them,” Jongho pointed out with a smirk._

_“Well, better jump in now while they’re all over the place” Mingi said._

_“Exactly,” Mirae jumped down, dodging the bullets with swings of her staff, while Seonghwa covered her by shooting arrows through several others from his place, Hongjoong and the rest jumped down as well, quickly dodging and attacking everyone that came their way. Yunho tackled a few, slicing throats with the sharp ends of his sai, while Mingi nearly decapitated some with a few throws of his axes, taking them out of the bodies in between incapacitating a few others with quick maneuvers._

_Seonghwa jumped down as well, finally joining the group as they walked inside. “No survivors, right?” He asked._

_“Nope. Kill everyone,” Mirae said quietly, staring at the man who was about to run away. He had an eyepatch on and a scar on his cheek. “Take the rest of them out, I’ll deal with the guy,” She looked back at them, running after the man with an eyepatch._

_She ran after the man, catching up to him and knocking him down with a kick. “Tsk, tsk, tsk, you shouldn’t have tried to run,” She said, picking up the vial that rolled away from his pocket. “I’ll take this, thank you.”_

_“You think this will stop with me? It will only continue, the bloodshed, the carnage, more like me will come into the light,” The man stared at her. “Human, non-human, more evil will come into this world, and you are helping make it happen.”_

_“That’s none of my business,” Mirae stared down at him._

_“It will be. When it happens to you, it will be, and you will have no way out,” said the man, and Mirae snapped his neck with her foot._

~ 

Mirae opened her eyes. She was meditating in the middle of the training room. It wasn’t long before she had to get dressed to go into Sky Sushi, yet her meditation involved her going back to her memories of the missions they were in. No survivors. No survivors. Jihoon didn’t survive. The more she remembered the missions, the more she was convinced it was getting difficult to make peace with what had happened. A lot of evils in the world today were probably brought on by her. 

The door opened and Yunho peeked inside. “Found you,” He said before going in. “San and I just got back from getting suits. He paid for it.” 

“I figured. He’s got money stacked in his clothes, in almost everything he owns,” Mirae shrugged. “If San’s wondering where I am, just tell him I’ll stay here for a bit until I have to get dressed,” she said. 

He shook his head and sat down in front of her. He had the urge to hold her hand, but before he could do anything, Mirae reached for his, taking him by surprise. “You’re reading my mind too?” He said quietly, a small smile on his face. 

“Yeah, just like how you’re reading my mind,” She replied. 

Yunho squeezed her hand, slowly lacing their fingers together. “You know, even after last night, I hope you know it’s okay if you’re not sure what we are. If it took years for us to find each other again, I think I’m patient enough to wait a little longer,” He said softly. 

“Knowing myself, you probably won’t have to wait long to know,” Mirae looked down at their hands. “But I just can’t help but worry, even more now than before, I worry that I might lose you again and I-” 

“You won’t lose me,” Yunho cupped her cheek with his free hand. “Your friend did say I’m immortal. “Practically no one, nothing can kill me, not after that first time.” 

Mirae nodded. “Still, doesn’t make me worry any less. This whole- this whole thing,” She exhaled sharply. “This whole thing has gotten me so on edge… I wonder how I did this the first time, the first two times…” She admitted. 

He understood how she felt. Yunho felt the vulnerability she was feeling, and it made him squeeze her hand again. He tilted his head to look at her. _You did this because you could. You’re a lot stronger than you think. If you feel this way, it just means you’re on your way there._

Mirae heard his thoughts, trying to avoid his gaze. _How would you know?_

Yunho smiled. _I know because I was there with you, we both went through the same thing, I’ve already seen you both at your best and at your worst, and you know what? I still think you’re as pretty as the first time we met._

_You believe in me too much_ , Mirae kept avoiding his gaze. 

_I always have, and I always will,_ Yunho squeezed her hand. _I’ve never once given up on you, because I know your heart, even after being apart for so long, I feel like I know you well._

 _You’ve got no choice to, we’re joined at the head_ , she thought. 

“Exactly,” Yunho leaned in to press a soft kiss on her lips and pulled away after a moment, resting his forehead on hers. “I know how you’re feeling.” 

“I’m glad you do, because that means I don’t need to say it,” She murmured, closing her eyes and sighing. “When all of this is over, do you think I’ll feel a lot better?” She asked. 

“Probably, but before you think of what might happen later, let’s think about what’s happening now, hmm?” He said, leaning in for another kiss. _Either way, I’ll still be here with you_. 

San suddenly peeked in, making them lean back and pull away. “Before you two try and hook up again in this room, we should probably get ready. I got a call from Yeosang, he’ll be waiting for us by the time we get there,” He said. 

Mirae rolled her eyes. “San, remind me to throw your shiber away if you say that again,” She said. 

San’s expression fell. “You wouldn’t.” 

“I would if you don’t shut up about what you’re thinking is happening with me and Yunho,” She pointed out. “Say goodbye to shiber if you say one more word about it.” 

San sighed in defeat and shook his head. “Alright, fine, but both of you should get ready at least?” He said. 

The two of them got up from the floor, Yunho still holding her hand as they walked out of the room. 


	6. Chapter 6

_Miran and Changseok were watching Mirae train and spar with several masked men in the sanitarium’s uniforms. The two of them were impressed at how quickly she was able to get everyone on the ground. The six others were seated on the side, watching her with blank expressions on their faces. As the last person fell to the floor, Mirae was standing in the middle, holding one of the wooden clubs that they used to try and hit her with. She was staring into space, evidently in a trance._

_“Ah, Lee Mirae, as expected, our mutant,” Miran smiled, looking especially pleased with the scene in front of them. Mirae said nothing._

_Changseok whistled, and out of nowhere, more masked men in the sanitarium employee uniforms appeared. This time, they were holding sharper weapons, from blades to axes and swords. He whistled again, signaling them to attack, and they charged at her at the same time._

_They watched in amazement, seeing Mirae make quick work of each one, dodging one and attacking another, using all their weapons against them. Blood was splattering on the padded walls, making the man and the woman step back to keep themselves from getting bloodied. Mirae was eventually standing in the middle of the room, her face and clothes covered in blood as she was surrounded by the bodies of those who tried to attack her._

_Miran and Changseok applauded, the doctors standing nearby clapping as well. “Perfect. Absolutely perfect, as expected of our little mutant,” Changseok grinned. “Your instincts are incredible,” He looked at her in admiration._

_“We made the right choice in Mirae, honey,” Miran said, looking just as proud. “As we did with the rest of them. All of them are exceptional, they will make perfect soldiers for our organization.”_

_“The greater good,” Changseok said._

_“The greater good,” The doctors around them repeated. “Utopia.”_

_“Clean yourself up, Mirae, the others are about to take on some other people next. You should be watching to set an example,” Miran told her, and she walked off, dropping the weapons that were in her hand._

_“She will be leading the group, right?” Changseok asked, while they watched her get escorted into another room by a few nurses._

_“Yes she will. But I’d like to give the rest of these boys a chance first. Maybe Hongjoong will be her second-in-command, the two of them would make a good team,” Miran muttered._

_“What about Yunho? Doctors are saying the two of them are close.”_

_“Her actual relationship with Yunho doesn’t matter, they’ll be working together here too, but her focus will be on the mission, his focus will be on the mission,” She replied. “Besides, should they eventually stay together, maybe get married in the future, they won’t have a choice but to focus on what we tell them to do. We put Mirae through an operation after all, but she won’t know that, she never will,” She added._

~ 

San was fixing the cuffs on his tuxedo that night. His hair was slicked back, the purple streak becoming more prominent within the jet-black strands. He checked himself out in the mirror in what was once Jihoon’s bedroom. “Mirae, are you ready?” He called out, leaning back out into the living room. 

“Almost, I’m still fixing my hair!” She replied from her room, her voice muffled. 

San looked back at the coat hanger that had his bag with the harpoon and blanks. “How am I going to bring that one?” He frowned in thought as he returned to the living room, still looking down the dark hallway. 

Yunho suddenly appeared, making San flinch and step back in surprise. He was also dressed in the tuxedo he picked out earlier. “Where’s your sister?” He asked. 

“She’s fixing her hair. How did you fit your sai into your suit?” San asked curiously. 

Yunho opened his blazer, revealing holsters that had each pair. He knew what San meant when he asked that. “How are you going to fit your harpoon? The Yeosang guy said concealed weapons should fit” He pointed out. 

“I am aware of that,” San replied as-a-matter-of-factly. “The only smaller weapons I have are guns and knives.” 

“Do you have a silencer attachment? Maybe you can bring that one along with your gun,” Yunho suggested. 

His suggestion made San nod. “Good point. It would’ve been cooler if I just used my harpoon, but we can’t have everything we want, can we?” He said, going back into the closet where his clothes and extra weapons were kept. 

The door in Mirae’s room opened, and she stepped out, her knee-length green dress glittering when it caught the light from the lamps in the room. Her hair was up in a slick ponytail, the white streak of her hair also evident against the black. She lifted up the hem of her dress a little to reveal a holster that had her staff attached to her thigh. Yunho looked at her in awe. “How do I look?” She asked, turning around for him to see the whole outfit. 

San returned as well, stopping and smiling when he saw Mirae. “You look beautiful, sis,” He said. “Good thing I sent you to the department store too,” He added. 

“Thanks” Mirae smiled and she turned to Yunho. “Well?” She asked, wanting to hear him say what he thought rather than to read his mind. 

“What San said, except the ‘sis’ part,” He replied, making her laugh. 

“Well, I decided on the knives too,” San opened his blazer, revealing the belt that had his gun with the silencer attachment and a few knives on his side. “You never really know what’s going to happen there.” 

“This might sound really silly,” Yunho began. “But would the reason why Yeosang’s helping us, why he knows what he knows is because he might be related to them?” He asked. 

“Who would they be to him? His descendants?” San pondered on the question as well. “If they were, Yeosang probably hates them so much to do it,” He added, Mirae nodding in agreement as they stepped out of the apartment. 

“He did say mutants-first,” Mirae said quietly as they rode the elevator down to the basement parking lot. Even after the explosion on the road, their car remained intact because of the adjustments Junhong made to it. “If they turn out to be his relatives, I think that says a lot about him than it does them.” 

~ 

They pulled up in front of Sky Sushi later that night, seeing a lineup of guests who were dressed just as extravagantly as the other, getting out of cars that they knew cost fortunes. “See anyone familiar?” San asked as they looked outside the window. 

“No, I have never seen those people before, at least I don’t think I remember seeing them,” Mirae shook her head. 

“Me neither,” Yunho added. “Wait a minute,” He pointed to the small cluster of men and women heading inside, all of whom looked familiar. Mirae immediately looked to where he was pointing. “Those are- those are employees from the sanitarium.”

“We should park the car first, and see if Yeosang’s showed up somehow,” Mirae drove on, finding a spot close to the restaurant. She fixed whatever creases there were on her dress as she got down, San and Yunho doing the same with their suits. 

“Ah, finally you’re here” 

The three of them turned to see Yeosang appearing from a shadowy place. “Oh great, he’s also doing the teleporting from the darkness bit,” San frowned, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. 

“No, I parked my car near yours,” Yeosang said, gesturing to the silver Rolls-Royce Phantom several feet away from their car. 

San looked impressed, yet suspicious while Yeosang put his keys in his pocket. “Are you by any chance related to the family whose party we’re going to?” He asked directly. 

“Ah, I was afraid you’d ask that,” Yeosang chuckled, looking down at the blue pouch he took out of his other pocket with the hourglass necklace. “If we’re going down the honesty route now, you should know that I’ve seen empires rise and fall, I’ve seen wars start and end, and Mirae, if you don’t end this, the family will never stop their anti-mutant crusade, it already started when you killed their cult leader.” 

“You didn’t answer his question,” Mirae spoke this time. “Are you related to them?” 

Yeosang smiled. “You’ll see. Come on, the line moves fast.” 

They carefully approached the line. San, Mirae, and Yunho looking wary as they followed Yeosang, who was immediately let in when he showed the necklace, gesturing to the three of them and referring to them as his associates. They were ushered further inside by a woman in a kimono who led them to their table.

The interior of Sky Sushi was draped in red and white, one half of the room illuminated in white, and the other half in red. The furniture was sleek and maintained the usual minimalist design. There were also displays of hourglass-shaped watch faces, all diamond-encrusted and they knew those were worth millions. 

Yunho held Mirae’s hand as they followed Yeosang further to their table, squeezing her hand tightly. Mirae laced their fingers together while she linked her arm with San’s. When they arrived at their table, finding it at the red part of the restaurant, they sat down. “Anyone feeling hungry?” Mirae muttered. 

“I’m too anxious to do anything,” San replied. 

Servers began to appear, carrying trays of food and wrapped boxes, setting each one down in front of the guests. “You still haven’t answered our question, Yeosang, are you related to the family?” Mirae turned to him again. 

“I did answer. I said you’ll see,” Yeosang replied. “At least open your gifts, it’s rude not to touch them.” 

“I don’t remember that being taught to us when we were kids,” Yunho muttered, untying the blue ribbon, the box falling apart to reveal a much smaller blue velvet box. He saw Mirae open hers, a red velvet box that had a pocket watch with an hourglass design on the face. He opened his box, seeing a regular wristwatch that had the hourglass design on the face. San opened his purple box, finding a gold necklace with a clock pendant with an engraving of an hourglass at the back. 

“They have a thing for hourglasses, huh,” San leaned over to his sister. “Are they here yet?” He asked. 

“Not yet, but you’ll know if they are, both of you will,” Yeosang said to Yunho and Mirae. 

“Maybe I should excuse myself to the bathroom, or see what else is in this place, maybe I could get an address,” She whispered to them and they nodded. Mirae stood up, patting Yunho on the shoulder as she asked a server where the restroom was. Down the hall, fifth door to the right, she was told and she walked ahead. 

The further she went, the more she sensed that she was being watched. Mirae took quicker steps down the hall, sensing that whoever or whatever was watching her was now following her. As she stopped in front of the door, she got a slight look at who it was. It was a middle-aged woman who looked incredibly familiar. Mirae quietly entered the restroom, hearing the woman follow her inside as she was approaching the sink. 

“Lee Mirae. Long time no see.” 

Now she knew why the woman looked familiar. Mirae dodged a strike of what looked like a knife that was concealed inside a tube of mascara that she had taken out. “Yeah, it’s been a long time” She said, dodging and blocking every jab the woman tried to make towards her with the knife. Mirae was soon backed against the mirror, hearing it crack behind her, and she kicked the woman away, twisting her arm that had the knife and head butting her for good measure. “I don’t want to kill you” 

“That’s too bad, because I want to kill you!” The woman charged at her again, almost smashing her head against the sink. Mirae moved away in time, feeling a trickle of blood on the side of her face. 

“You’re ruining my makeup!” Mirae caught her in a chokehold. “One more time, I’m not going to kill you, but you’re really testing my patience” She said, moving out of the way when the woman tried to kick her and break free. 

“You’re ruining my night! And the doctor’s!” The woman tried to run towards her. Mirae’s eyes glowed and she shoved the woman away, sending her all the way to the end of the bathroom, crashing into one of the cubicle doors. 

~ 

Yunho turned to San. “Something’s wrong. Mirae’s getting attacked in the restroom,” He whispered. They were listening to one of the executives in charge of the watch line make a speech, followed by another, Yeosang listening intently with a grin on his face as he watched one woman speak after the men. 

San nodded. “Should we excuse ourselves too?” He whispered. 

“I think we should,” Yunho replied. He glanced at Yeosang, who seemed to sense what they were planning to do.

“Mirae’s taking quite a while in there, is she okay?” He asked. 

“I don’t even know why we bother, we’ll be back,” San sighed, exchanging looks with Yunho and quietly gesturing to the hall. He got up, Yunho following suit and as everyone stood up to make a toast, they slipped out of the crowd and into the hall. Yeosang watched them, pretending to take a sip of the cocktail offered to him in case anything happened, also slipping away to follow them.

San skidded to a halt when they heard the sounds of something breaking from the restrooms. His hand moved under his blazer, poised to take out a knife. They heard a thud from behind. He turned around, as did Yunho, and their eyes widened at what they saw. Yeosang was bending over the body of a server who had a gun in their hand. The blonde’s eyes turned red, sucking the life and energy out of the server, who turned into ash. Yeosang twitched a little, sighing contentedly as he stood back up. “Ah, that’s so much better,” He smirked. 

“That sounds so wrong,” San cringed and turned back to what was happening in the restrooms. 

Black figures appeared out of nowhere, and Yunho blocked a strike that was coming towards him. “We’ve got company,” He said, kicking his attacker back. San and Yeosang did the same, dodging the blades that shot out from the sleeves of the dark figures wearing domino masks. 

“The same guys we ran into at the cafe” San groaned, his eyes glowing as he kicked one back, only for the figure to get back up on its feet. “I am guessing we’re being distracted,” He added. 

Yeosang’s eyes were almost glowing as he tried to suck out the life and energy from his attacker, only to gape when he realized the attacker still tried to strike at him. “This is impossible-” He muttered, throwing them off. 

Yunho had already taken out his sai, spinning them in his fingers before hurling each one at the figures coming towards him and San. San’s eyes glowed when the sai hit the figures, stunning them and making them fall to the ground. 

The door of the women’s restroom burst open, a middle-aged woman crashing against the wall. Mirae stepped out, hair disheveled with some blood spots on the side of her face and her arms. Her eyes were glowing. “There’s no way to beat these creeps,” She said stiffly. 

Yunho pulled his sai out from the bodies, staring at the blades as he noticed there was no blood. “We managed to stun them, but they’re practically invincible, no blood” He said, showing them his weapons. 

“My powers don’t work on them either,” Yeosang looked just as shaken. “What are these?” He muttered, looking back at the hall. Loud music began playing, “This is our cue to go back before anyone wonders where we are.” 

Mirae fixed her hair, covering the blood stains on her cheeks as they walked back into where the party was. They found the entire crowd was waiting for them, all of them standing in their places. They immediately looked at the people who were hosting. They were also staring at them too, but with slightly more relaxed expressions than the others. “They’ve been wondering” She muttered, noticing some of them reach into their pockets and purses. 

“I think it’s safe to say they’re not here” Yeosang murmured. “You can send them my way” He said. 

“Do I really want to take the chance of making you live longer?” San quipped. 

“You’ve got no other choice. Either that of you won’t get to that executive in time. Make up your minds” Yeosang told them, the four of them standing back to back. 

“He’s right, there is no other way. San you might as well get to that executive, the only one wearing the velvet suit” Mirae muttered. 

“I don’t have my harpoon, but I’ll try,” He replied. 

“Take the dozen on the right, will you, Yunho?” She said. 

“Of course.” 

“I’ll take the dozen on the left. Yeosang, center right, San, center left” Mirae muttered. 

“With pleasure” 

One of them yelled, leading the charge. Yunho stopped a few, slicing through some with his sai. San fought his way through the crowd, keeping his eye on the man in the velvet suit. He took his knife and his gun out, shooting everyone else that was coming towards them. He aimed his knife at the man and threw it as hard as he could. His eyes glowed and he shoved the rest that were coming to him off. The knife hit the leg of the man, making him fall to the ground, jerking and shaking on the floor as the energy from the weapon stunned him. 

Mirae took her staff out from under her dress and extended it, hitting through several that were coming to her. Yeosang sucked the life and energy out of two people at the time, grabbing them at the throat while they tried to attack him with their weapons, only for the cuts to heal. The bodies were turning into ash in his grip. San grabbed one of Yunho’s sai and threw it towards the executive, who had gotten back up and was limping away, hitting him in the other leg. His eyes were still glowing, making the man jerk and shake uncontrollably on the ground. 

In moments, they were all standing in the middle of the room, surrounded by bodies and piles of ash and dust. The man who was stunned, still lying down a few feet away from the mess that was made. Blood had seeped out of most of the bodies that were intact, covering big parts of the floor. They themselves were also covered in some splatters of blood. “That took a while, didn’t it?” Yunho pulled his sai out from one body and wiping it with the only relatively white cloth left on one of the tables. 

“Yep” Mirae stepped over the pile and went towards the executive. Taking out the knife and the other sai, she poked him. “Still alive?” 

“What do you want with me?” The man choked, staring at all of their faces. “I’ve got nothing valuable to offer.” 

“Yes you do, you’ve got information, information I want. Your bosses, where are they? I doubt they were part of the group that tried to kill us” Mirae asked. 

“Mr. Kang never attends his business events, his family doesn’t attend either,” The executive sputtered. “He asked us on his behalf. He always gets us to do everything on his behalf-” 

“You sure? Don’t lie” San spoke, staring at him with his eyes flickering. 

“Yes! Yes! I’m sure! Please don’t kill me!” He said, raising his hands. 

“They won’t even care if you’re dead” Yeosang added. 

“You-you look familiar” He looked at the blonde. “You-You’re executive Kang! They called you…grandfather!” He said. 

San, Mirae, and Yunho all stared at him. San pointed his knife at him. “You led us here on purpose, didn’t you?” He said. “You made us trust you!” 

Yeosang stepped back. “I can explain-” 

“Explain now,” Yunho’s expression stiffened. “Only I can kill you, so talk.” 

“Are you or are you not related to them?” Mirae asked. 

“Yes, I am related to the Kang family,” Yeosang’s tone remained calm. “But when I realized what they were trying to do to people, especially to people like us, I knew I had to teach them a lesson. Like I said, like what I’ve been saying, mutants first.” 

“Don’t think we’re done with you yet” Mirae kept a hold on the man lying on the floor. She looked back at Yeosang. “Your family are devout followers of the Utopian cult, huh?” 

“Utopia,” The man repeated. “The greater good.” 

“The greater good. My family were fanatical freaks of that abomination of a cult that your adoptive parents led,” There was an unusual coldness in Yeosang’s voice. “The tycoon you found out I killed was a member of that cult. Many tycoons in this country are members of that cult.” 

“How noble, but that also means your relatives turned Yunho and I into what we are,” Mirae’s grip tightened on the man’s collar. 

“Death and destruction, Lee Mirae,” The man stared at her, as if in a trance. “That’s all you bring, but death and destruction is necessary. We will cleanse the city in blood and fire. You are helping carry out their legacy into this world.” 

Out of nowhere, a man in a domino mask and a black suit with a blade sticking out of the sleeves dropped down from the ceiling. Mirae kicked them away, her eyes glowing as it sent him towards the bar, crashing onto the counter. Four others dropped down to attack them, while one carried the executive away and out the door. Yeosang had also vanished. 

“Oh for god’s sake!” San tried to shoot at them, but they moved too fast for him this time, slicing through his arm and before he knew it, the blade pierced his chest. He frowned, pushing the man away. “I’d charge you for dry cleaning, but that’s asking for too much, isn’t it?” He said, the cut in his chest healing completely. He noticed the blonde had gone and ran off, shooting at the masked men as he tried to catch up to Yeosang, who drove away quickly. “I knew we shouldn’t have trusted him!” He yelled. 

As Mirae head butted one of them away, it was then she noticed that her attacker looked familiar. “Who-who are you?” She blurted out. “I think I know you” She said, stepping to the side, sizing them up. 

Yunho plunged his sai into the heart of the one attacking him, the two others dodging Mirae’s strikes with the staff in time. “You are alive” One of them said. 

“Wait a minute,” Yunho stared at them. 

Mirae blocked the oncoming jabs of the blade towards her, she caught them by the wrists, but was soon knocked over when they kicked her away. “You do look familiar!” She said, getting back up on her feet. 

But at her words, they ran out of the restaurant, making the two of them follow close behind. As they reached the outside, where San was, they vanished. “I knew we shouldn’t have trusted him. He double-crossed us,” San muttered. 

“They did seem familiar,” Yunho muttered. “They said I was alive,” He added. 

“They way they moved, their eyes, they definitely are familiar, we’ve already seen them before,” Mirae tried to remember. She turned to her brother. “Where’s Yeosang?” 

“He drove off. Probably didn’t want Yunho to kick his ass or something,” San frowned. “Why did we even believe that guy. Why did you even believe in him?” He shot her a look. 

“Because we needed a lead. Yeosang was the one who tipped us off about who was causing these accidents,” Mirae sighed. She knew how he felt, and she understood his frustration. “Now we know and don’t know at the same time.” 

“Seeing those guys who tried to kill us again,” Yunho said quietly. “From what they said to me, and from how familiar they looked, it probably means-” 

Mirae knew what he was thinking. “We have to go back…” She said. 

“Back? Back where?” San asked. 

“Back to where it all began, to the place I never want to go or see ever again,” Mirae replied, a sinking feeling coming over her. “The sanitarium.” 


	7. Chapter 7

_“We’ll really need to destroy this place,” Junhong frowned at the thought. He looked at the brawl from the window. It was still going on, only this time, there were bits of fire in some places, and Hyuk had Miran and Changseok stuck together, using their robes to bind the two of them._

_Mirae looked down. “It was them. They were behind this all along.”_

_“I know,” Junhong looked apologetically._

_“We’ll need to end them too,” Mirae said without hesitation, but she was staring at the faces of her adoptive parents, both of whom looked slightly satisfied and at the same time horrified._

_Junhong stared at her. “Are you sure?” he asked._

_It pained Mirae to think about it. They were the ones who gave her a place to stay, a job, clothing, and food. She owed them a lot. She and Jihoon, owed them a lot. “Yes. I’ll do it” she said._

_The male nodded. “If need be,” he said._

_“I’m doing this for Jihoon too,” She muttered._

_“Prison? Or to your death?” Hyuk asked the two of them. Chanyeol knocked out the remaining thugs at the other side of the room. “Prison seems too light a punishment.”_

_Miran and Changseok were cackling. “And you think death isn’t? We don’t need to be around for our plan to succeed. There will be others. You haven’t finished us off entirely,” Miran coughed as their robes tightened around her._

_“Oh you would be surprised. We have our ways of finding the others,” Hyuk glared at them._

_“Ah, my child,” Changseok grinned when Mirae appeared next to the telepath. “You have shown us how invulnerable you are to harm, now we’re assured that we’ve made the right choice.” his breathing was starting to get strained._

_Mirae stared at them. “I was always invulnerable to harm, I always had these powers, it was why I was in that sanitarium in the first place,” she said quietly. “You’ve given me a roof over my head, clothes to wear, food to eat, a job, taught me what I know, allowed me to care for Jihoon,” she picked up the bloodied katana on the ground._

_“You’ve cared for me in your own way, even if it wasn’t genuine,” she swallowed. She went closer to them, her eyes glowing and welling with tears, both her hands on the katana. “But your lives are a sacrifice I could make for the millions of people out there, including Jihoon’s,” and tears streamed down her face as she plunged the blade into both of them._

_Miran and Changseok squirmed and blood gushed out of their mouths. “We’ll die knowing that we turned you into the person you were meant to be” Miran gagged as more blood gushed out of her mouth._

_“A warrior, a fighter, a mercenary” Changseok smiled, and closed his eyes. The two of them went limp, and Hyuk and Chanyeol looked at Mirae, who covered her face as she sobbed._

_Chanyeol pulled her into an embrace as Hyuk lowered their bodies onto the ground. “Guys? We have to leave, we have to leave now, this place is going to explode” Junhong said from the control booth. He hurried down to meet them as they ran out of the room._

~

San, Mirae, and Yunho exchanged looks as they got in the car. “So what do we do now? Should we go straight? Or do we stop and regroup?” San asked the two of them while fastening his seatbelt. 

“I think we’ve fought off enough people today,” Mirae said quietly. “But I can’t go home knowing that the sanitarium is where we have to go…I can’t do it,” She stared at the steering wheel in front of her. She was trying to figure out who those masked men that attacked them were. She was certain she knew them, she could tell by the way they moved and the way they fought her. She just couldn’t place who they were. 

“So Yeosang’s family is the reason why we are the way we are… why we can do what we do?” Yunho was trying to process everything they’ve learned in the backseat. 

“It’s…not all their fault, but they are still responsible,” Mirae said quietly. “I killed my adoptive parents. I had to. Their lives in exchange for the rest who could still make it,” She recalled the night. “They turned me into this, they chose me, whether they were aware that I was a mutant or not.” 

“There’s only one other place we can go to for tonight, the safehouse?” San tried to suggest, his expression softening out of concern at the sight of his sister remembering everything about her past again. “We’re not going home, but we’ll have some place to take a breather. I would have wanted to go back to get my harpoon, but I can always do that while we’re there waiting for our next move.” 

“San’s right,” Yunho spoke. “The safehouse is the only other place we can go to for tonight if you don’t want to go home yet.” 

“For all we know, they might be waiting for us there,” Mirae nodded. “Safehouse it is.” 

She began driving away from the restaurant, the three of them wondering what would happen once the authorities got word of what transpired inside, and the bloody mess they seemed to have left behind. But it made her wonder if the police were also aware of the existence of the cult, with the Kang family trying to keep it alive somehow. The law enforcement were just as corrupt as any other politician in the country. 

Their clothes were splattered with blood as were their faces that had bits of now dried blood on them. Their knuckles also looked hurt, but there was no cut in sight, just remnants of more blood. 

They pulled up in front of the familiar wall that had the vending machine, looking around a few times to see if anyone else was nearby before pressing the button. The three of them were soon knocking on the red door before pushing it open. Junhong and Ino, to their surprise, were already standing by, as if having anticipated their arrival. Ino looked especially concerned upon seeing Mirae. 

“I saw everything as it happened,” Ino said quietly, reaching out to pat her shoulder. “I can only imagine how shocking everything must be.” 

“Shocking is an understatement,” San replied. “We were double-crossed, and now we’re just- we’re just trying to figure out what to do next knowing where we’ll be going next.” 

“The sanitarium?” Ino guessed, and they nodded. 

“Well, in this case, Ino hyung already has your clothes in the sleeping quarters and,” Junhong spoke this time. “San, I took the liberty of making some adjustments to that harpoon gun you own,” He grinned. “It was Ino’s idea,” He added right away, noticing the surprised look on his face. 

“Yeah, you can shower and change and get yourselves cleaned up after the night you three are having,” Ino said, noticing their clothes. 

“Mirae, you can go shower first” Yunho said to her, and she nodded, entering the sleeping quarters to take her clothes and a fresh towel and entering the other door that was the bathroom. 

He could hear her thoughts as he stared at the closed door. Yunho took out his blooded pair of sai and put them down on the coffee table, wiping each one clean with the hem of his jacket. He was also trying to make out who those masked men they fought with last. One of them even mentioned that he was alive, as if they knew he was dead before, or at least they thought he was dead before. An idea came into his head. He had a feeling he knew who they were, he just wasn’t sure. Yunho looked up at the bathroom door, hoping that Mirae could hear what he was thinking. 

“I see you two have kind of rekindled your relationship,” Ino suddenly said, after having observed him. 

“If you could call it that, we just haven’t formally acknowledged it,” Yunho replied. 

Ino looked at the door, then back at the taller. “I can tell she needed you. More than you probably know, or hear from her, and she still does,” He said. “Don’t leave her side,” He advised. 

“Never” Yunho shook his head slightly. “I would never leave her.” 

“Same goes for you, San,” Ino turned to him. “Don’t leave your sister.” 

San shook his head. “Never.” 

~ 

Mirae sat down on the couch, drying her hair. San was next to her, also freshly showered and fiddling with the new harpoon Junhong had given him. It was a lot sleeker in design, and was a lot more portable that it could fit in one of his holsters. San glanced at her. “What are you thinking?” He said. 

“I’m thinking about having to go back there,” Mirae replied, staring at Yunho’s sai on the table, and at her staff next to it. “That place. I swore to myself I’d never go back there, but now I have to” She sighed. 

“Seeing you like this, makes me feel sorry I never did anything to stop dad from bringing you there,” San frowned slightly. 

“You couldn’t have done anything anyway,” Mirae shook her head dismissively. “But now it seems like this is bigger than me, bigger than what I faced, it involves everyone now.” 

He nodded. “This will be all over once you face them. I don’t have any doubts you’ll beat them too, and maybe, you’ll be able to put this all behind you for good.” 

Mirae leaned in for a hug. “I hope so. I hope this will all be over once I’m done with them.” 

“You can do it, I know you can,” San assured her. “You’re a lot stronger than you realize. I’m not just talking about being an omega-level mutant, I’m talking about you, as a person.” 

“You’re just saying that because we’re related.” 

“Hey, none of that,” San poked her side, making her flinch. “But I’m serious. You’re a lot stronger than you think. You’ve been through hell and back, they can’t touch you. I know that because I’ve also kind of been through it too, and also because I’m your brother.” He patted her back. 

Mirae pulled away and sat back, the staff and the sai catching her eye again. “We don’t have a lot of time, if we want to face them, we might have to do it now.” 

San shook his head. “We’ve done enough fighting today, we need our strength. The world can wait for tomorrow.” 

Just then, Yunho stepped out from the shower room, hair wet and already in a fresh set of clothes, his tuxedo bunched up in his hands. “Rest now, we’ve been at them for the past two, three days.” 

“It feels like we’ve been at that mob of a family for more than a week, if I’m being honest,” San let out an exasperated sigh at the realization. 

“You sound like you haven’t done this before,” Mirae raised a brow at him. 

“I have, lots of times before, but the fact that it’s only been two to three days is exhausting to say the least,” San leaned back on the headrest. 

“The two of you can go to sleep if you’re tired” Mirae said to them. 

“What about you?” Yunho asked. 

“I’m not sleepy, I’m not really tired,” She replied quietly. 

You have to sleep, she heard Yunho say in his head. You can think of a plan once you’ve gotten some sleep in you. 

I can’t. I can’t sleep, she looked up at him. “We hardly slept when we dealt with the Utopian cult.” 

“But this is different,” San argued. “In a way, but you still have to rest. You haven’t been sleeping well, you should now.” 

“Alright, alright, I’ll try,” Mirae sighed in defeat. She got up, waved a little to Ino and Junhong from the other room, both of whom were busy reading and looking through several monitors, and went into the sleeping quarters. 

“You can stay in with your sister, I’ll sleep out here” Yunho said to San, who had already gotten up. He picked up his harpoon gun and went inside. 

~ 

Mirae crept out of the sleeping quarters later when she knew everyone was fast asleep. She still couldn’t sleep, her mind running with thoughts as to how she was going to face them. The Kang family, the devout followers of the cult her adoptive parents led. Yeosang’s descendants. She didn’t even think about Yeosang, or what probably happened to him now, it was as San had already suspected. She went back to the advice Ino had given her before, the last time they came here. 

It was up to her, to make peace with it, make peace with who she was and forgive herself for everything she did before. It seemed harder to do. 

Flashes of Jihoon’s death came back to her. No words were exchanged between them, as during that time, before she knew it, she was holding her best friend’s lifeless form close on the floor of the communal training room of what was once her old workplace. The Center for Paranormal Research. She failed Jihoon, her promise to take care of him and protect him with her life. He was her reason to make a life for herself after all. 

She glanced at the sleeping quarters, knowing that San was sleeping on the other bed, likely hugging his new harpoon or his one pillow as he didn’t have shiber. She looked over at the couch, where Yunho was also asleep, one hand dangling off the couch as if reaching out to take his weapons. The two of them were with her all this time, San most of all, who helped her cope with the grief she felt. 

“You’ve always had trouble sleeping?” Ino suddenly appeared in front of her. He was dressed in his pajamas and his hair was tousled. 

Mirae just smiled and shook her head. “Haven’t been since you got rid of the trigger in me. I started remembering everything, even more so when Yunho touched me,” She said quietly. 

Ino pulled out the chair across from her and sat down. “Are you thinking of Jihoon again? I can tell you are.” 

“You read Yunho’s mind, didn’t you?” She looked up at him. 

“I don’t have to when it’s written all over your face, Mirae,” He said. 

“I keep thinking about how I’ve failed him. He’s probably resenting me right now if he could,” She looked down at her hands. “I’ve always been so dangerous, it seems.” 

Ino reached out to pat her shoulder. “From what I’ve gathered about him, he was always determined to help you do vigilante stuff, and I know you always told him not to get involved when it happened because you worried. That never stopped him from cheering you on when you’d try and save someone’s life, he even wanted to join you someday if you’d let him.” 

Tears were welling up in her eyes. “Still, I failed him. Like I failed a lot of us before. It’s the reason why there’s no Center anymore, it’s the reason why Chanyeol and I are the only ones left from what was what, fifteen, sixteen of us?” Mirae admitted. “This is all my fault.” 

Ino shook his head. “The Seoul attack was not your fault. You did what you had to do to end it, even if it meant that we’d dissolve or disband. I was there when I saw you deliver that final blow, defeating the goblin kingdom underground and all that.” 

Mirae wiped her eyes and looked down, sniffling. “Guess we’re lucky you were around to make everything look like it was before those creatures destroyed it, huh.” 

“Yeah, partly,” Ino chuckled. “But my point still stands. Jihoon knew he might die, and if anything, I think he’d say that it’s not your fault too. He made his choice,” He squeezed her shoulder slightly. “You can either be tied down with regret, or you can accept that what’s happened has happened and move forward. You’ve got more reasons to keep going, you know. Many more reasons.” 

“San and Yunho,” Mirae admitted, and Ino nodded. 

“San and Yunho,” He repeated. “San needs his sister, and Yunho needs-” 

“Hey.” 

They looked over to see Yunho already awake, sitting up. “Ah we were just talking about you,” Ino smiled and got up. “I think I’ll leave you two alone, but yell if you need anything, hmm?” He patted her shoulder again and disappeared. 

Yunho gaped at the sudden disappearance of the older male, and got up to join her at the table. “You two were talking about me?” He asked, and she shook her head. He smiled upon reading her thoughts. “Ah.”

“Ino teleports and he phases through solid things,” Mirae replied upon hearing his thoughts this time. “One of his many abilities.” 

“You were thinking of going in there tonight, weren’t you?” Yunho asked. 

“Yeah, I just need to think of a plan. Do you still have that… the trigger?” She said, pointing to her temple. Yunho shrugged. “Pandora’s Box.” 

Yunho stared at her. Mirae repeated the words again. Yunho looked down, trying to sense any tick inside him. Mirae repeated the words two more times. He shook his head. “Nothing. That tick, that’s not in me anymore, I don’t feel it,” He said, looking pleasantly surprised. “I guess when I died the first time, that kind of removed it.” 

“When the mutant gene in Yunho activated, it sort of reset his mind,” Junhong suddenly appeared, yawning. “I could hear you guys, and Ino woke me up to help you,” He added, pouring ready-made coffee into a mug.from the cupboard. “That’s why he doesn’t have the trigger anymore.” 

“How did you know-”

“Ino,” Junhong yawned again and took a long drink, almost spitting the contents out from the sudden heat. “So, do you have a plan yet?” He asked. 

Before they could say anything, San stepped out from the room as well, squinting at them while holding his harpoon gun. “All of you are talking without me at this hour of the night, what’s the plan?” He said, sitting down next to Mirae and resting his head on her shoulder, yawning. 

“Before we were interrupted, we were talking about how Yunho doesn’t have the trigger anymore like me,” She replied. “And if what Yunho’s thinking is correct, those people we fought with last at Sky Sushi, are still under the trigger.” 

“Still?” San looked confused. 

“Those people moved familiar, they looked familiar even with their new clothes and masks,” Mirae said. “Yunho has a hunch it was the five other people we were with, in that unit.” 

“Are you going to save them?” San looked up at her. 

“Yeah. Even as we were under, they have never done anything to me, but I know if they remember everything, they might choose to do good,” Mirae ruffled his hair. “It’s worth a shot. If I couldn’t save Jihoon, maybe I could save them, and everyone else who might get caught.” 

“Our heroine” Junhong teased, and she shot him a look. 

“I’m no hero. I’m just trying to be less of a monster than I was before,” She sighed.

“Well, if it helps, I’m still in the process of perfecting the device that can help remove the trigger from your friends,” Junhong said, taking another sip of coffee. “But if anything fails, just hit them really hard on the head. That should most likely knock them out of it temporarily,” He added. 

“Good to know,” Mirae nodded. “They might be expecting me there now. I better get myself together,” She stood up, making the three stare at her. “What?” 

“You didn’t think we’re not going with you, were you?” San stood up as well. 

“Don’t answer that question. We are going with you” Yunho got up from his seat. “We’ve come this far together, we’ll fight them together.” 

A small smile crept up on her face. “Alright, but leave the family to me. I’m doing this for us.” 

Junhong was beaming. “I’ll go get ready. There’s a bunch of things I want you to test out while you’re in there. I’ve tested some of them extensively, but there’s nothing wrong with wanting to try it out in the field some more,” and he rushed back into his room. 

Mirae watched the rest of them go back into the sleeping quarters and in the shower room. She looked over the table, where her staff was. The more she looked at her staff, the more she felt she had to do this alone. She quietly picked it up and looked back at the doors in case one of them came out, before heading out the red door. 

Yunho rushed back out as the door closed, having heard her thoughts. “Mirae!” He called out, opening the main door. She was gone. He heard the muffled sound of a car driving away. 

San and Junhong rushed out of the rooms as well. “She left?!” San looked shocked. 

“Yeah, and I know where she’s going,” Yunho said, fitting his sai into his holsters. 

“So, let’s go then!” San exclaimed. 

“It’s not dark in here, I can only teleport in the dark” Yunho shook his head. 

Junhong handed them what looked like thin strips of metal. “Communicators. I forgot to fit these into Mirae’s car, but you two might as well take them with you. When you need to go here or some extra help, I’m a call away,” He explained. 

“Are we going to do this a lot?” San asked. 

“It’s Mirae, do you think you’ll be able to avoid this?” Junhong replied, and San nodded, knowing what he meant. “The Seoul attack, the Utopian cult, it’s all just beginning, there’s more evil than you know and the country needs people like you to stop it.” 

“We’re not even heroes,” Yunho said. 

“You don’t need to be a superhero to do the right thing. You’re just more capable than the average person,” Junhong pointed out. “Here, Ino kind of stole this when he dropped by Sky Sushi after the mess, and I fixed it a little bit,” He handed them the hourglass necklace. “Twist the middle and it activates a sound that only people under a trigger could hear.” 

San pocketed the necklace. “We need to get this to Mirae before she starts hitting them.” 

“She’ll have to either way, but they might listen to her, there’s that, they stopped trying to fight her when she told them they looked familiar,” Yunho looked down in thought. 

“Hurry up, the sanitarium you two were in isn’t far from here,” Junhong said to them. He turned off the lights in the kitchen and San put his hand on Yunho’s shoulder. 

“Am I going to feel sick when you do this?” San looked up at the taller. 

“Not really, it’ll be fast” Yunho said, and they disappeared. 


	8. Chapter 8

_Yunho and Mirae faced each other in her bed. He snuck into her room again, luckily passing by the nurses who were doing rounds in the hall to see if anyone was still awake by the lights. He covered themselves with the blanket to keep them warm. He knew he had to be back in his room in time before the staff would do bed checks, but he didn’t care. Yunho wanted to stay with her._

_“Do you ever think we’ll get out of here?” Mirae asked, almost slurring her words from the medication._

_“I hope so. One day we will,” He replied. “The three of us, together. You, me, Jihoon, we’ll all get out of here.”_

_“What if we don’t?”_

_“Then we’ll stay here, or we’ll plan to escape, escaping is better because I don’t want to see you sedated again,” He murmured._

_“Jihoon told you, didn’t he?” She asked, and he nodded. “Yunho, there’s something you should know about me, the real reason why I’m here, why I’m being sedated this much.”_

_“I already know the reason why you’re here.”_

_She shook her head slightly. “No, well, that reason was just what he told those people working here. I’m…not like any other person.”_

_Yunho raised a brow. “What do you mean?”_

_“I mean, I have…I have powers,” She bit her lower lip slightly. “I have powers.”_

_“You have powers?” He looked confused._

_“Yes, Yunho,” She said. “I have powers. I’m a mutant. My father didn’t want a mutant for a daughter, he caught me using my powers one day, that’s why I’m here.”_

_“Powers? Like mind-reading or flying?” Yunho asked._

_“Something like that, but mine are different…” She said. “I make things explode…”_

_“What kind of things? All things?” He was trying to wrap his head around this revelation._

_“All things,” Mirae repeated. “Smaller things explode easily if I want them to, I don’t quite understand why either, maybe someday I will. Do you still like me?” she asked._

_Yunho’s gaze shifted into that of concern. “You think just because you can make things explode, I don’t like you anymore? You think I wouldn’t love you anymore?” He kissed her forehead. “I think it’s cool that you’re a mutant. It means we can escape here faster,” He teased._

_“What if we get discharged anyway but not at the same time?” She mused._

_“Then if I get out before you, I promise you,” He held up his pinky. “I promise, I’ll come back for you. I’ll be waiting for you. I always will wait for you.”_

_Mirae smiled softly, linking her pinky with his. “I promise that too.”_

_“Good,” and he kissed her. “It’s you and me.”_

~ 

Mirae pulled up in front of the familiar looking building. There she was, back to where she started. The place she swore to herself never to return once she got out. Everything still looked the same, and it made her wonder if it was operating again. She looked at her staff on the passenger seat and picked it up. If they want me, they’ll get me, she thought to herself as she got out. 

Cautiously approaching the driveway, she noticed a piece of paper stuck on the door. It was a notice that the facility was closed. Yet, she saw the lights were on, and she pressed on, seeing that the locks and chains on the door had already been broken. Mirae went inside, stopping when she saw that there was no furniture in sight, just a vacant space It made her remember her time in the facility again, mentally noting where everything used to be. 

She looked down at the tiled floor. Marks of where the furniture was placed were evident. Mirae also noticed drops of blood. Wiping one off with her finger, she knew it was fresh. Someone was in here. 

She got back up and turned around, blocking the strike that was coming towards her from a blade. In front of her was a masked man in a suit that had a blade sticking out of his sleeves. Mirae knew it was the same one from before. “You, you were the one in the restaurant” She said, effortlessly defending herself from the oncoming strikes made towards her with the blade. 

“How would you know,” They said blankly. 

“I know because I know how you move” She fought back. “… Kim Hongjoong, isn’t it? Hongjoong, it’s me” She said, finally figuring out who he was. 

“How do you know who I am?” He said, backing her up against a pillar. 

“I know who you are because,” She groaned, attempting to take off the mask he was wearing, yet paused when he slit her throat, blood gushing out momentarily but the cut had healed itself. “I know who you are,” She groaned again, her eyes glowing as she pushed him back, sending him crashing against the wall on the other side. “I know who you are because you’re pretty short among the guys, and I know your moves.” 

“Anyone can be those things” Hongjoong got back up, running towards her, but fell back when Mirae hit him with her staff. 

“Not just anyone, anyone who was in the same unit as me, remember?” Mirae’s eyes were still glowing. “Take off the mask then, so I can see who you are.” 

“No” Hongjoong leapt back up on his feet, this time, knowing to dodge her strikes when she attacked, yet Mirae held him at an arm lock, stopping him from trying to plunge the blade into her chest. 

“The last thing I want to do is to fight you, and that’s probably what you’re going to think once you realize who I am” Mirae bashed his head onto the other pillar, ripping the domino mask off his face. It really was Hongjoong, the side of his face now a little bloodied. She stared at him, wondering if hitting him on the head worked. “It is you.” 

He stared at her, and she hit him in the back of the head this time. He fell back, the other side of his face bloodied. “Mirae, this is for the greater good” He mumbled. 

“Now you know my name, don’t you?” She bent down. “I need to know where the Kang family is in this place.” 

Hongjoong looked up at her. “They’re not here, they’re trying to mislead you,” He said. “The others are upstairs…Seonghwa, Mingi, Wooyoung, Jongho, they’re all waiting for you, are you going to do to them what you did to me?” He said. 

“Yes. Yunho and my brother will be coming for you, they’ll take you someplace to completely get rid of that trigger in your head,” She said, standing back up. In the corner of her eye, she saw Yunho and San appear from the shadows. 

“Junhong will be pulling up in a few minutes with Ino, they’ll do the trigger removal process right away,” Yunho approached them, and he looked down at Hongjoong. 

“You’re alive” Hongjoong muttered upon seeing the taller. 

“I am. I’m a mutant,” He said. 

“Can you tell me where the Kang family lives, then?” Mirae bent down again. 

“I don’t know, I just know it’s a big building, a condominium building, they own it, Kang Tower, I guess is the name, I don’t know” He groaned, feeling his body weaken. 

“Kang Tower? That’s right in the middle of the city!” San gaped. 

“We’ve got some knocking out to do,” Yunho said. 

“Not really,” Mirae shook her head. “Hongjoong’s the only one here,” She looked up. “Seonghwa’s probably on the roof as he usually would be, Jongho’s going to take a while. Mingi too, remember?” She turned to Yunho. 

“Yeah, but where would Wooyoung be?” Yunho asked. 

“Because of his weapons, they must have made him their personal guard. Wooyoung’s always up for showing off,” Mirae muttered. “Junhong better hurry or else Hongjoong’s going to bleed to death,” She said, looking back out of the doors for a sign of a vehicle. 

Ino suddenly materialized in front of them. “Leave him to us, go up and get them” He said. 

“Let’s go!” San and Mirae ran down the hall, Yunho touching their shoulders when they entered the shadowy part. 

They appeared on the second floor. Mirae gestured for them to stay behind and keep a lookout. “Seonghwa? Mingi? Jongho?” She called out quietly. “…Wooyoung?” The further she walked, the more she remembered her time in internment. She approached the familiar door that was once her room. Yunho’s room would be on the other side, and Jihoon’s room would be next to hers. 

“We meet again,” Someone said behind her. She turned around, missing a strike from a familiar pair of nunchaku. 

“Jongho,” Mirae muttered. “San! Yunho! Get the other two!” She shouted, quickly defending herself from a punch that was thrown her way. San and Yunho vanished in the dimmer part of the hall. Her eyes glowed as she kicked him away, but he leapt to his feet quickly. 

“You betrayed our leaders by killing them,” He said, trying to throw another punch but Mirae caught his fist, her eyes still glowing. 

“I had to, they were killing many others,” She said, feeling her strength waver when Jongho tried to fight back. 

“That’s never bothered you before.” 

“It does now, it bothers me now because I’m not being controlled by them anymore,” She head butted him away. “You always thought you were tougher with a mask on, let’s see you without it.” 

“Lies.” 

“It’s the truth!” She said, tackling him to the floor. “Pandora’s Box, those are the words, right?” She muttered, seeing him twitch. He kicked her off and she stood back up. “The times we’ve all sparred together, you’ve never been able to beat me, I remember that, do you?” she said, catching him in a hold. 

“Your mutant gene is what made you unbeatable, without it you’re nothing,” He spat, backing her against the wall but she kicked him away in time. 

Mirae picked up her staff. “Probably, but I know better now, and you will too,” She tried to strike him with the ends and he blocked each one with his own weapon. When his nunchaku caught onto her staff, she pulled him towards her and hit his head on the doorknob. 

~ 

“Get down!” Yunho shouted when he saw a silver blade thrown across the hall. San blocked it with the barrel of his harpoon and Yunho brought his sai out. “Mingi,” Swirling the three-pronged weapons in his fingers, Yunho looked into the dark hall. From the shadows appeared a tall, masked man, holding an axe in one hand, a shuriken in another. “San, go up to the roof, the other one is there.” 

“It’s dark, but I’ll try,” San nodded and ran towards the fire exit. 

“Remember me?” Yunho said. “I used to be dead, but here I am. You left me for dead.” 

“What makes you think I care?” Mingi charged at him, the two of them engaged in combat. They were evenly matched because of their heights, and the sounds of metal clashing filled the empty hall. 

“Maybe, but Mirae does, you’re after her aren’t you?” Yunho could see her at the corner of his eye, but Mingi had sensed it before he did, attempting to strike at her. 

It was Mirae and Yunho against Mingi. “We’re not trying to kill you, Mingi,” She tried to get through to him in between blocks and strikes. “I’m trying to set you free.” 

“Free? What makes you think I’m not already?” Mingi replied, striking her shoulder with the axe. 

Mirae outmaneuvered him, sending him head first into the wall. “Because you aren’t,” She said, bending over him to take his mask off. She looked up at Yunho. “He’s unconscious.” 

Yunho grabbed her staff and her hand and they disappeared, reappearing on the rooftop where San was engaged in combat against, as they had expected, Seonghwa, who also had a blade sticking out his sleeves. “Park Seonghwa! You’re mine!” She called out, running towards him with her eyes glowing. 

Seonghwa said nothing, kicking San to the side as he charged at her as well. “You don’t want to fight me, Seonghwa, you know you don’t want to-” One hand was on her throat while his blade-bearing arm had what looked like an arrowhead sticking out, aimed at her heart. 

He stared at her. “Bold of you to assume you know who I am” He squeezed her throat. 

“Because I do-” Mirae stared at the arrowhead, disintegrating into ash and embers. “I know your moves, we trained together” She shoved him off and picked up her staff again, this time hitting him before he could get back up, knocking him out. 

“That means Wooyoung really is in Kang Tower,” Yunho turned to her, rubbing the side of her neck. 

Mirae nodded. “He is.” 

“What about them?” San looked down at Seonghwa’s unconscious figure. 

“I’ll take care of them.” 

They turned around. It was Yeosang. “What are you doing here?” San was about to point his harpoon at him, but Mirae patted his arm to stop him. 

Yeosang held his hands up, especially when Yunho fiddled with his sai in front of him. “I came here when I found out they were trying to lead you, the three of you into a trap,” He said, his tone remaining calm. 

“This is the trap? This isn’t a very good one.” 

“But it worked nonetheless,” Yeosang countered. “Facing the demons in your past? You’re not quite done yet.” 

“Oh we are, with them anyway,” Mirae said. 

“Your other colleague, Wooyoung? He’ll be waiting for you, and I thought you should know they made some… adjustments to him,” Yeosang revealed. 

“What kind of adjustments?” She raised a brow. 

“You’ll see. But it was them putting Wooyoung through it that was the last straw. They won’t stop until they have your head, and our heads, and the heads of every mutant here in Korea on platters,” He said. “You don’t have to like me, but I’m already warning you of what you’re going to expect when you get to Kang Tower.” 

“They might not like knowing you’re helping us,” Yunho said, pointing the tips of his weapons to the blonde. 

“They already know I have chosen a side. Mutants first.” 

Mirae looked down at the staff in her hand. She was thinking of a plan, while at the same time figuring out how she was feeling. The adrenaline rush seemed to have numbed her down, but realizing that she just tried to save her former colleagues felt like some weight had come off her shoulders. Was she already at that point? 

“I’ll go in there alone.” 

Yunho and San stared at her. “Mirae, you can’t,” San said. 

“They will expect me to face them alone,” Mirae pointed out. 

“That may be true, but things are different now,” Yunho turned to her. “You’re not the person you used to be under the trigger, you’re so much better than that, because you know even you need help sometimes.” 

San’s expression fell slightly. “I’m not letting you face them alone either, not without me. Whether you like it or not, I’m going to be here for you.” 

“We both are. Let us be here for you. You’ve beaten yourself up enough, it’s time for you to stop,” Yunho added. 

Mirae looked down. “Alright, let’s go to Kang Tower,” She said. She looked up again, turning to Yeosang, and then at the space in between them where Seonghwa used to be. “Ino’s already gone ahead. If you really chose to fight for mutants, you will help me end them.” 

“Yes, I will do that,” Yeosang nodded. “My car is bigger, we’ll take that one instead.” 

~ 

They arrived in front of Kang Tower and pulled up into the driveway. The four of them got out, Yeosang tossing his keys to the valet as they entered the building, making a beeline towards the executive elevator that took them straight to the floor where the Kang family would be. 

“Any ideas on how you’re going to approach them? Wooyoung will be hiding somewhere,” Yeosang broke the silence. Mirae shook her head. Yunho and San only stared at the blonde. “Okay, just wondering.” 

The elevator doors opened, revealing a traditional Japanese-themed room that must have served as a function room for guests or executives of the Kang Organization. Hues of yellow, black, red, and gold were all over, and as they stepped out, they noticed the carpet that had the hourglass design. 

At the end of the room were lines of suited figures all dressed in black, wearing domino masks and black leather gloves. They knew they had blades or other sharp weapons hidden in their sleeves. In the middle of the lines was the family themselves. The husband and wife scientists, and their five sons, all of whom looked incredibly snooty, the shorter one from the five had an especially menacing look on his face. 

“Grandfather,” The elder Kang among the family in front of them suddenly bowed his head at the sight of Yeosang. “Boys, greet your great-great-grandfather,” He said, and they followed suit. “At last, Lee Mirae, we finally meet again, it’s been years, and you still look the same.” 

“I could say the same for you,” She muttered. “At least from what I remember about you.” 

“I warned you many times over to stop the atrocity you’re committing,” Yeosang suddenly spoke, the unusual coldness in his voice appearing. “Funny how you’re so bent on killing mutants when you have all descended from one.” 

The man ignored his words, still staring at Mirae. “The prodigal daughter has returned, the most successful experiment has come back all sentient,” He hissed. 

“Am I your daughter?” She said. 

The man chuckled. “Still the same cold-blooded killer we have turned you into, Lee Mirae, no matter how long it’s been. The future of the Utopian program. You have unwittingly carried out the legacy built for you,” He took a step forward. “All the blood on your hands, including those of our leaders, and your friend.” 

Mirae shook her head. “It was a sacrifice I was willing to make. To keep people like you from hurting innocent people, their lives in exchange for millions.” 

The taller, stockier son gave her a mocking look. “Did you really, though?” But Mirae ignored him. “I mean it was your fault you destroyed the Center for Paranormal Research, it was also your fault your friend died, and I can tell you’ve been beating yourself up about it.” 

“You’re insulting his memory, you know that, right?” Mirae shot back. 

The sons all snickered in their places. “Utopia isn’t all bad, though. Had you not killed them, we would’ve seen an eden, for all of us, and you’ll become the most feared woman in the country, no, the most feared woman in the world. You’ve already had powerful people begging you to spare their lives years ago,” The man spoke. 

“Well now you have me, you can stop hurting innocent people,” Mirae said. “You have what you want, your problem is with me.”

The elder Kang cackled in his place. Yeosang glared at him, but to no effect. “My, my, aren’t we acting like a hero. The hypocrisy coming from this woman, telling me what to do when she herself has had bodies upon bodies piled up to her name. All the throats that were slit, the stab wounds, the bludgeoning, you led them all to do it.” 

“He likes the sound of his own voice, doesn’t he?” San muttered to Yunho, who nodded. 

“Don’t think I didn’t notice that one of our own has come back from the dead,” They turned to Yunho. “Did my great-grandfather draw blood from you?” 

“Leave them out of this. You have a score to settle with me, so settle it already. You want me dead, you can try,” Mirae cut him off. 

“So aggressive. Looks like the others at the sanitarium you once were in weren’t quite up to par, tsk tsk,” He said, shaking his head. “No matter. While you were away, playing pretend heroics, I thought of creating an experiment that will surpass you. Granted you were already a mutant when we turned you into what you are, but if I could replicate that, and I think I have, onto one of your able-bodied colleagues, we would be able to lead this country, this world, into Utopian bliss.” 

“Utopia” the sons repeated. 

“The greater good” Said the elder. 

“The greater good” they repeated as well. 

“If you want us to settle this score, I’m going to need you to do it on my terms,” The man snapped his fingers, and two of his sons approached her, one of them holding a black device, while the other was holding a black collar. San tried to stop them, but Yunho held him back, only for the two of them to be fitted with the same collars on their necks. Yeosang was also fitted with the collar. “These collars are a new experiment my sons have been developing, designed specifically for mutants like yourselves. I think these would be useful in prisons,” They smiled. “Use your powers, it gives off an electric shock. The longer you use your powers, the longer the shock. You should be used to that feeling by now, Mirae.” 

The collar felt a little tight around Mirae’s neck and she had a little trouble swallowing. The elder Kang snapped his fingers again, and the sons returned their places next to him. “You can fight, yes, your powers have somewhat helped you. But what if you weren’t a mutant? Would you still be able to fight as well as you did?” He said. “Oh, and I’d be careful too, because use your powers, they’ll also get a shock.” 

“Don’t worry,” Mirae stared at him. “I’m sure I can hold my own without them.” 

“Good. You’ve beaten the other four, what about the fifth?” The elder Kang snapped his fingers, alerting his aides at the side of the room. “Bring Wooyoung inside.” 


	9. Chapter 9

A set of doors on the other side of the function room opened, and Wooyoung had appeared. Mirae and Yunho’s expressions fell slightly at the sight of what he was wearing. Wooyoung was wearing the old uniform, including the fedora and the mask that covered his nose and mouth. The wakizashi sword he was holding split into two as he eyed Mirae. “He’s bringing back so many good memories, doesn’t he, Mirae?” The man eyed her. “Don’t be fooled by his appearance. He’s gotten some improvements made to him over the years.” 

Wooyoung stood several feet away from her. “Wooyoung,” She muttered. He had a blank look in his eyes. “Wooyoung what have they done to you?” 

He didn’t answer, and instead charged towards her, about to plunge the blades into her. Mirae ducked under him, stopping herself from going any further with her sword. “He won’t be able to hear you, my dear. He’s far too deep into my command for you to settle with diplomatically.” 

Wooyoung tried to charge at her again and she blocked him with her staff, the sounds of hitting metal filled the room. 

“If you think we’re just going to stand here and do nothing, you’re in for a big surprise,” Yunho tried to toss one of his sai towards Mirae, who caught it, but her expression turned into that of horror when Wooyoung tried to charge at her again, the blade from the sai piercing through him. Wooyoung in turn, pierced his sword into her stomach, the two of them frozen against each other for a moment. 

There was blood appearing on the corners of her mouth as Wooyoung twisted the blade inside her. San looked horrified. Mirae spat out the blood coming into her mouth and she looked over at the two of them, giving them a knowing look. She kneed him in the groin. Wooyoung didn’t move, and instead tried to push her back, hand still on the blade that was in her. 

“Do it, Mirae, do it,” Yeosang said, still glaring at his own relatives. 

“Can’t go on without your powers, already?” The man said mockingly. 

“I can,” Mirae groaned, pushing the hat and ripping the mask off. She saw that his hair had gotten longer, now hanging over his eyes. She kicked him off as hard as she could, taking the sword out of her body. Wooyoung removed the sai that was sticking out of his chest, throwing it towards one masked man, hitting them in the leg. She looked over at San and Yunho again. 

“Just do it, Mirae,” Yeosang kept saying. 

“Do it,” Yunho repeated. _We can take it_. 

Mirae’s eyes glowed red, and a sharp electric current struck through their bodies. She persisted as she plunged her staff onto the floor, the energy from the staff sending a slight shockwave that made some fall over. San and Yunho fell to their knees at the electric shock. Yeosang was trying to remain still and tugged on the collar a little when he felt the shock enter his body. Wooyoung charged again, and Mirae blocked him off with her staff. “He’s now designed to be impervious to pain, and he’s a lot faster now, if you’ve noticed,” The man said. 

“You know, that says a lot about how much of a man you are, can’t even face Mirae yourselves,” San suddenly spoke as he got up. “Not even your sons have the balls to go up against her,” He added, taunting them. 

“I could crush you like a twig, mutant,” The larger and stockier son tried to come towards him, but was held back. 

San gained more confidence to keep taunting them, a hand reaching into his pocket upon remembering what Junhong had given them earlier. “If you’re really a man, come fight us then, it’s a waste of skills if you’re going to keep this on us,” He called out. 

“What are you doing?” Yunho looked at him in disbelief. 

“Trust me,” San mumbled, then looked back at them. “Then come fight us!” 

“Are you sure you want to do that?” The man smirked. He turned back to Mirae. “All this time, you still can’t stand on your own, you always have to have people with you, isn’t it?” 

Wooyoung’s continuous sword strikes left Mirae with several cuts on her face and her throat, the cuts healing completely only for him to inflict the cuts on her over and over again, catching her off balance. Mirae fell over, her staff rolling to the side, her face almost entirely covered with blood. San and Yunho’s eyes widened, until Yeosang held them back before they tried to go up to her, shaking his head. “It seems that Wooyoung has won,” The man continued, a look of satisfaction evident on his face. “I was afraid we were going to take all night, but it appears not. Without your mutant powers, you really are nothing, Mirae. It makes me wonder what Miran and Changseok were thinking when they picked you to lead the unit. What makes you even remotely worthy to be part of this world?” 

They saw Mirae flinch and move, and Wooyoung stabbed her in the stomach again, the sword in place where she lay. Yunho and San moved past Yeosang, horrified as they approached her. San took the sword out, eyes fixed on whether or not she was breathing. The cuts on her face had healed, yet her clothes were now covered in blood, some parts ripped from the blades. “Mirae, I thought you could heal,” San whispered, looking into the cut again. “Don’t you dare leave me, please,” He said, on the verge of tears. 

San and Yunho soon found themselves on the other side of the room, having been kicked off by Wooyoung. Mirae coughed as she crawled to her feet, only to be kicked by Wooyoung as well. “You know, it’s a good thing I let Wooyoung beat me when he did,” She said. 

San and Yunho crawled back to their feet as they watched her. Yeosang remained calm. The collar on her neck had broken off from the many sword strikes. “Looks like his swords are that sharp,” She coughed, picking up the blade that he used to stab her. “What’s this made of? Diamonds?” 

San took that as a cue to take out the hourglass necklace out of his pocket before Wooyoung could attack her any further, twisting the middle. They couldn’t hear anything, yet he was already on his knees, covering his ears from the sound. Yeosang snatched the sword from him to break his own collar, running back to slice off Yunho’s and San’s, the collars breaking apart. “Get them,” The man instructed, the remaining masked men charging towards the three. 

Yunho kicked off several at the same time, rolling over to pick up the other sai on the floor. San fired his harpoon towards a few others, his eyes glowing as he stunned them with the energy from the blade. Yeosang sliced off a few other aides who were coming towards them. “Not on my watch” Yeosang fought them off. 

The blade returned to San’s harpoon and he fired it again, hitting others squarely on the head. As some had tried to stab him, the cuts on his face healed, and San shoved them to the side, crashing into the paper dividers that led to other vacant rooms. 

Mirae fought off the sons that were trying to attack her, seeing that Wooyoung was already on the floor, covering his ears at a sound he was hearing yet she couldn’t. “Wooyoung” She said, in an attempt to get through to him again. “Wooyoung, it’s me, Mirae, remember me? I was with you in the sanitarium,” She said, in between breaking the arm of one of the sons, and the ankle of another. “You don’t have to do this anymore, you don’t have to be under their control anymore.” 

“Says who?” The man appeared before her. 

“Says me,” Mirae replied, the two of them kicking the sons away, all of whom she was able to incapacitate. “You think your words can hurt me, I was born with these powers, you can’t even take the upper hand without an invention. Looks like we’re evenly matched.” 

“So it seems, Lee Mirae,” The man cracked his knuckles. “So it seems.” 

“Wooyoung, you have to listen to me, you don’t need to do this,” She said, glancing at him while she blocked, kicked, and punched the man. 

“He does not listen to you,” The man grabbed her by the throat. “He listens to me, and only me.” 

“You numbed him down, but you didn’t take away his ability to choose,” She sputtered, her eyes glowing again as she shoved him off. “You took that away from me once, so did Miran and Changseok, but I’m not under their control anymore,” She said, picking up her staff to bash him on the head. 

The man stumbled back. One of the sons was about to come back into the fray until Yeosang stopped him. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” He said coldly. “Give me a reason why I shouldn’t disinherit all of you in my will.” 

Mirae hit him again. “I’m not a hero, I’ve never pretended to be a hero. I was a monster, but not anymore,” She grabbed him by the throat this time, her eyes still glowing red. “And do you know why?” She hissed. “Because I chose not to be one.” 

Mirae head butted him back down onto the floor and got up. He was suddenly cackling. “You think you have a choice. Mirae, you have proven to be so naive, thinking that a person can be good after being bad many times over.” 

“There is good and bad in everyone. I can’t go back to the past,” Mirae said. “But I can change the present,” she bashed him on the head again. 

“Like it or not, your destiny still awaits you, the future of the Utopians,” The man argued, blood gushing out the side of his mouth. 

“Not if I can do something about it,” Mirae bent down. She looked over at San and Yunho, who had beaten the last of the family’s personal army and his aides. 

“Go ahead, kill me, just like you killed your parents, just like how you let your friend die, that will not change the outcome.” 

She stared at him, her eyes turning into black. “Killing you means you take the easy way out. Like me, you have to live with this until you finally die,” She hissed, taking a card out from her pocket. 

“I don’t think he needs to live,” Yeosang suddenly spoke. “He’s a disgrace to my name, my entire bloodline is a disgrace to the Kang name,” He shot at the sons, who were all staring at them in horror, especially at Mirae. “If we want peace, this is the only way,” and he ran towards the man, his eyes turning red as he sucked the life and energy out of him. 

Mirae fell back upon seeing what he was doing, too stunned to speak as she saw the body of the man turning into ash before them. Yeosang was shuddering as he absorbed the remaining life force inside the man. Yunho and San approached her, helping her up onto her feet. They looked all around them. Everything had gone quiet and the entire room was a bloody mess. The pristine white and yellow tones were now stained with splatters of red. Weapons were scattered all over, including the ones the sons tried to use on them. 

Wooyoung was now unconscious when San twisted the hourglass pendant back to its original placement. Yunho found the device used to activate the electric shocks and stepped on it to destroy it. The five sons were on the floor, staring at them, most of them cowering in horror while the others were trying to stifle the pain they were feeling. “What do we do with them?” Yunho said, glancing at Mirae. 

“Let me handle them,” Yeosang spoke. He noticed some of the aides were still moving slightly as well. “Let me handle the rest of them. Leave now, before people start talking.” 

~ 

They were at the safehouse. Ino had taken Wooyoung in at the last minute, and they were watching their five former colleagues, who were lying unconscious on the slabs. With Ino’s help, the safehouse had grown bigger to accommodate all of them, giving Junhong more room to operate on Wooyoung, after they found that he had chips implanted in his brain to inhibit his pain receptors. 

“You know, that family may be evil, but the technology they have developed is impressive. They could’ve had patents for these to be used on patients? Yet they used it to build their own super soldier or something,” He said, a disapproving look on his face while he was taking out the chips in his head. The other four had metal headpieces fitted on them, all of them just as unconscious while Ino closed his eyes, trying to telepathically remove the audio triggers within them. 

“So, that’s it, huh?” San asked them as they went into the kitchen. He poured himself a cup of coffee as they sat down at the table. “It’s all over?” 

“In a way. There’s nothing else we can do, the Kang family is done, makes me wonder what Yeosang did to those boys after we left,” Mirae mused, sitting back as Yunho turned the television on to see the news. 

“The Kang Organization is now reportedly going through a shift in executive duties as board member Kang Yeosang has announced he will be taking over as president of the organization from his own family members,” reported the news anchor. 

“I shall now be taking over the Kang Organization effective immediately, and I look forward to appointing new people very soon, no further comment,” Yeosang spoke to the reporters who were present. 

“Could he have killed his own great-great-grandchildren, then?” San raised a brow. “When we left, do you think he killed them?” 

“If they threatened to do this again, he might just,” Mirae shrugged. “Looks like he really was mutants first.” 

“He even saved us earlier, looks like he was being sincere,” Yunho added. 

San shrugged. “I don’t know. That guy proved to be less of an asshole than I expected, though.” 

Ino suddenly appeared. “They’ll be just fine, including Wooyoung” He assured them. “Well, you three have been through a night,” He chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. 

“Yeah, and I feel so dirty, to say the least,” She looked down at her clothes. Yunho had given her his jacket to cover up some of the holes on her shirt on the way back. 

Ino chuckled. “I’m proud of you, Mirae. You finally healed.” 

“Oh, I don’t know, it was probably the adrenaline,” She said. 

He shook his head. “I don’t think so. You finally faced it all, the hardest things to face when one wants to heal and really move forward. It was only a matter of time before it happened, and last night did it.” 

“You saw everything, didn’t you?” Mirae gave him a look. 

“Maybe, but at least you finally really understood, and I do mean really understand, that you aren’t the monster you thought you were, not anymore at least,” Ino smiled. 

Yunho and San smiled at her as well. “It was a part of me, and the bad thing I did was let it tie me down, because I thought it was the only way for me to redeem myself,” Mirae said quietly. 

“I hate to say I told you so, but I really did tell you so. You’ve finally forgiven yourself, you’ve finally let go of what happened, now you can really move on with your life,” Ino pointed out again. “Someone really has a psychic block in there,” He teased. 

“It might take some time,” Mirae said. “But I think last night really put me on that path.” 

“As it should be,” San wrapped an arm around her. “You’re finally free, and I mean really free.” 

Mirae looked at the three of them. “So, what’s going to happen to them? She shifted the topic back, looking at the lab, at the five unconscious men. 

“Well, they’ll be here for a week under observation, and after that, is anyone’s guess,” Ino shrugged. “You saved them either way,” He added.. 

“I tried, we can only hope they’ll do some good with what they can do,” Mirae shrugged. “That’s really up to them, they don’t have to listen to me.” 

“Hongjoong certainly did, though,” Yunho pointed out. “From what I remember, he always listened to you.” 

“He doesn’t have to anymore once the trigger is out of him,” Mirae said. “He could, but he doesn’t have to.” 

“So, what are you three planning to do?” Ino asked this time. 

“I’m thinking of going home,” Mirae replied. 

“Me too, I’m starting to miss my sofa bed, if I’m being honest,” San sat back. “And shiber.” 

“I’m starting to miss my bed too,” Yunho sighed, stretching in his seat. 

Mirae stood up. “Well, I guess there isn’t much for us to do now except go home. I realized I’ve been away from the store long enough, they’re probably wondering where I am and why I haven’t been picking up my phone,” She said. 

“If that’s the case. You know who to call if something has happened, hmm?” Ino gave her a hug. “I’m proud of you, Mirae, for finally overcoming this.” 

She smiled. “You always are.” 

“And I’m never wrong,” Ino pointed out with a chuckle. 

Yunho and San stood up as well, bidding Ino and Junhong goodbye as they left the house. 

The sunlight hit their faces as they stepped out, the vending machine behind them moving to seal the entrance. The sun was already out and there was a slight chill in the wind that hit them. Ino had already brought their car over. “What a week,” Yunho said softly as they approached the car, Mirae getting in the driver’s seat, with San riding shotgun and Yunho slipping into the backseat. 

“Yeah, not even the jobs I had were as tiring as this,” San sighed, fastening his seatbelt. “Let’s get something to eat before we go home, I’m feeling hungry.” 

“Me too” Yunho patted his stomach. 

“I was thinking the same thing,” Mirae fastened her seatbelt and turned on the engine, driving away. 

They stopped by a convenience store by the river, settling down at one of the tables outside, watching children and their parents pass by and play, while others had breakfast before heading to work. The clerks who were at the cash register gave them strange looks upon seeing the state of their clothes. They chuckled upon hearing one of them think they were filming something. Yunho sat down across from her, while San sat next to her as they ate their meals. 

“When you left,” Yunho suddenly broke the silence between them in between eating. “Junhong said this was only the beginning. As if he was trying to say that there’s going to be more, do you really think that’s true?” He asked. 

“I do,” Mirae nodded. “I do think that’s true, evil doesn’t really stop, just like how good things don’t stop,” She said, looking at the river. “There will be more like them, but that’s what we’re here for.” 

“With great power comes great responsibility,” San pointed out, and they nodded. “Personally, I don’t mind if we do this from time to time. It was kind of fun too, it made me miss doing something.” 

“You just missed having a job,” Mirae teased, nudging him. “What about you? Have any plans somewhere?” She turned to Yunho. 

“I don’t know, I can still get by for now, I’ll see what happens,” Yunho shrugged, the two of them exchanging looks. “But I don’t mind having to do all this, superhero stuff on the side.” 

“You know, we could really do this as a side job or something,” San suggested, putting his spoon down. “Regular people by day, crime fighters by night.” 

“Really? With the costumes?” Mirae teased again, this time, flinching when he poked her side. “Underwear inside out?” She teased some more, laughing when San poked her again. 

“You know what I mean, Mirae,” San laughed. “But wouldn’t it be good? When things go bad? We’ll always be there to stop it.” 

“I think that’s the lack of sleep that’s talking now,” Mirae pointed out, bumping her shoulders with his. 

“I’m serious!” He smiled. “But most of all, we did this together, just like how glad I am that we got through last night together.” 

Mirae ruffled his hair. “I can’t imagine not doing this with anyone else aside from you, and Hyuk, and Chanyeol, and,” She turned to Yunho, who was watching the exchange between them with an amused expression. “Yunho.” 

He paused eating, wondering what she was thinking. “Last night, Ino made me realize that I still have reasons to keep going, and those reasons are right in front of me,” She continued. “The more I think about it, the more I see it. I’ve let my past really tie me down and keep me from doing good things. I’m not the same person I was back then, at least under the trigger, and I’ve learned to accept that Jihoon,” She paused. “Jihoon probably knew it was coming when they held him hostage that time.” 

“Good, took you long enough,” Yunho teased this time, making her chuckle. 

“But you are right, though,” She said, glancing at San. “When things go bad, we’ll be watching.” 

They stopped when they saw a crowd of people gather for a picnic, taking pictures of each other. Someone appeared to have proposed to their partner. Mirae and Yunho caught each other’s eyes when they looked away from the scene. San rolled his eyes upon catching the moment between them and went back to eating. 

~ 

By the afternoon, Mirae entered the training room, taking out garbage bags upon garbage bags of broken dummies and spiked gauntlets. Even as she felt like she had run out of energy, she couldn’t sleep any longer than she did upon arriving home. As she disposed of the bags and went to work, installing new dummies from the storage room in the corner, she realized the restless feeling she had was of a different kind. It felt like a big weight was off her shoulders, a weight much bigger than before somehow disappeared. 

She really was free, free from the burden of her past, no longer ridden with guilt. She was finally at peace with everything. 

Mirae smiled to herself as she closed up the openings in the ceiling after installing the new dummies. She turned to the displays of blunt weapons in the corner, including San’s harpoons that made her realize he had more than one similar gun. Among the displays in weapons were a pair of sai, nunchaku, bows and arrows, including a rapier, that made her think of her former colleagues, her former inmates. It made her wonder what they might do once they wake up in the safehouse. 

“Mirae,” Yunho peeked inside, making her turn around. “You finally cleaned up, this place, I mean,” He grinned, stepping inside. 

“Yeah, about time I did too. Did you get some sleep?” She asked. 

“Yeah, a little bit, but I woke up when I could hear you cleaning up here,” He said. 

“Sorry,” She muttered. “In my defense, you could’ve tried to tune me out, you know.” 

Yunho shook his head. “No, not right now at least,” He helped her with the other displays. There was something he wanted to ask, yet he couldn’t think of a way to say it out loud. “But I came here to see how you are, now that it’s all over.” 

“You know how I’m feeling,” She gave him a look. “But honestly, it’s only started to sink in now. It’s really all over, I could finally close that door,” She sighed contentedly, a small smile forming on her lips. “I did mean it earlier, when I said the reasons for me to keep going were right in front of me all this time,” Mirae looked up at him. 

Yunho took her hand. “You were mine. You still are.” 

Mirae looked down at their hands. “The more I look at you, the more I’m sure you’re mine. Just as how sure I am now of us, um,” She bit her lower lip. “Of us starting over.” 

“Starting over?” Yunho was taken by surprise. “…You mean?” 

“Yep, I love you too” Mirae said quietly, and he pulled her into a tight hug. 


	10. Chapter 10

That night, Mirae was at the back office of the store. All the employees had gone home, and she was going over the inventory of the new shipments of albums that came in. Most of the new arrivals were of the group that her best friend Hyuk was producing for in his agency. She was only away for what was only almost a week, yet she missed her work at the store. She spent the rest of her afternoon and the early hours of the evening answering the messages on her phone. 

“I was wondering where you were,” San appeared, coming into the back room with a bag of take out that she saw was from Chanyeol’s restaurant. “I figured we’d have dinner here. I was going to tell Yunho, but then I thought he’ll figure out where you are, he always seems to know where you are anyway,” He said, closing the door behind him and slumping down on the small couch to set the food on the coffee table. 

The door opened again and Yunho came in. “You are right, I always seem to know where Mirae is,” He said, leaning over to press a kiss on her forehead and sitting down on a chair. San wrinkled his nose at the sight. 

“Oh, you two are back together then?” San asked. 

“Yeah, we are, what about it?” Yunho grinned, helping him put out the containers of food. He got up, going into the break room to get the utensils. 

San shook his head, turning to his sister. “After the night we’ve had, you probably should take care of that tomorrow,” He advised. 

“This is my kind of break, I’m just trying to get back to normal,” She said. 

Yunho returned with utensils and plates. “Feeling disoriented?” He asked, and she nodded. 

“A little bit,” Mirae put the papers down. “It’s just been a while, that’s all.” 

“Why are you already thinking about what might come?” Yunho asked, having read her mind. 

“I don’t know, I keep thinking about what Junhong said to the two of you, that this was just the beginning, and that there will be more to come. I didn’t think defeating the Kang family would also bring that up. They were out to do what Miran and Changseok wanted to do even after they were dead.” 

San handed her a bowl of pasta and a slice of pizza. “Eat,” He said, moving closer to her. 

The door opened again, and Yeosang came in, making them put their utensils down. “Good evening,” He greeted them. “I see things are back to normal already.” 

“Not really, but thank you for noticing,” Mirae replied. “What brings you to this place?” She asked. 

Yeosang smiled. “I came in to, well, and this might come as a shock to all three of you, I came in to thank you for helping get rid of my family.” 

“You’re right, that is a shock. Kang Yeosang, being grateful?” Yunho stared at him. “Is that all you’re here for?” He asked. 

“Yes and no, but I trust you’ve all heard the news? I’m now the president of the Kang Organization, and I announced that I was appointing new people to become executive members,” He explained. 

“And you’re looking to us to become your board members?” Mirae raised a brow. 

“No, of course not, I wouldn’t look to any of you to become board members in my company,” Yeosang scoffed. “However, I will give credit where credit is due, and I will say that our partnership in this whole ordeal concerning my family was a tremendous success. I don’t expect we’ll be working together again, however, as I’ve got a company to run and things to settle, but,” He took a card out of his pocket and put it on the table. “Should you need anything, resources, permits, strings to pull, call me.” 

They stared at him, stunned at the sudden gesture. Mirae took the card. San broke the silence. “I’m curious, what did you do to your great grandkids after we left?” 

A sly smile crept up on Yeosang’s face at the question. “What do you think I did?” He replied. 

“You either killed them or grounded them?” Yunho spoke this time. “Or you sent them to prison.” 

“You think they’d last long in prison?” The sly smile on Yeosang’s face grew wider. “I could send them there, maximum security under solitary confinement for aiding and abetting, etc, etc, etc. While I am a believer in there being good and bad in everyone, or I have turned into one, rather, my family are quite the stubborn bunch, having defeated their father would likely make them do worse.” 

“That’s cold,” San said quietly. 

“Mutants first, Sannie,” Yeosang pointed out. “We’re more evolved than everyone else in the world. We’re the next step in human evolution. If there is one thing I know from having lived as long as I have, people are afraid of what’s different, and if they are afraid, let’s just say they will do anything to keep what’s different away,” He eyed each of them. “Well, I must be going, I hope this has given you some perspective on how people see us. Gentlemen, Mirae,” Yeosang nodded at them before leaving. 

“Okay, he definitely killed them,” San muttered, looking down at his food. 

Yunho and Mirae nodded. “Yeosang offering his services to us, strings to be pulled, he must be very influential then,” He said. 

“The Kang family are one of the most prominent in the country,” Mirae explained, picking at her food. “I’m guessing Yeosang built himself an empire under his great-grandson’s name, acting as a shadow over his family to see that they don’t screw up,” She mused. “But they did when he realized they were anti-mutant and were developing technology to kill or enslave mutants.” 

“If they hated mutants so much, somewhere, somehow, someone with powers hurt them first,” San deduced. “Yeosang might’ve done something to them, I don’t know, to his own son or something.” 

“Probably, but they’re all dead now, there’s no point in trying to figure that out anymore,” Yunho shrugged. 

“I’ve been thinking, maybe I could work at the store with you,” San turned to her. “At least I won’t have to be far, and we can go home at the same time,” He said.

“You want to work at the store? You sure? It’s not really exciting, but it’s okay, I guess,” Mirae asked. 

“Yeah, I’ve been moving away a lot before we saw each other again, I want to stay still this time,” San shrugged. 

“Alright, you can come into work tomorrow morning,” She teased, and San was beaming in his seat while he ate. She turned to Yunho and smiled. 

“You’re amazing and I adore you” He was beaming as well. “I still haven’t thought about that, but I’ll figure it out eventually, maybe work at your friend’s restaurant or your other friend’s agency or something.” 

“As what? What would you do at TRBL Music?” Mirae chuckled. “You’ll have to meet him eventually anyway. Both of them.” 

“I haven’t met Chanyeol and Hyuk either,” San interjected. “One of these days then.” 

Yunho laughed. “I don’t know, maybe I could work as security or something, or a waiter.” 

“Neither of you won’t have a problem working in those places though,” Mirae assured them. “Hyuk’s producer friends and the groups under that place, pretty much everyone there knows he’s a mutant. His cousin’s an idol and is also a mutant. Chanyeol’s family knows he’s a mutant too, it’s a family restaurant he’s in.” 

San looked impressed. “Which group is Hyuk’s cousin in?” 

“Silver. I have a feeling he’ll decide to hold that group’s fansigns at the store, so I really will need your help” She replied. 

“In that case, I might as well work here too, you’ll need help, heavy lifting and all,” Yunho winked at her. She wrinkled her nose in response. 

~ 

A week later, Mirae and Yunho pulled up at the safehouse, remembering that the five would have woken up by this time. They entered the passage and into the house, seeing Ino and Junhong seated at the dining table, having a meal while watching tv. “Hey” She said, greeting them with hugs. “Are they awake?” 

“Yeah, the process worked, we’ve observed them, talked to them,” Ino explained. “Some of them wanted to get out, but I tried to convince them to stay for a bit and wait for you to come by. I figured you’d want to speak with them before they left.” 

“That I do want to do,” Mirae nodded. “Where are they?” 

“Some are in the lab, some are in the sleeping quarters,” Ino replied. 

The door of the sleeping quarters opened, and out came Hongjoong, who looked dressed to leave. He stopped when he saw Mirae and Yunho, staring at them and then at Ino and Junhong, who was still fixated on the television. “H-hello,” He said. They noticed he had some stitches on the sides of his head. 

“How are you feeling?” She asked. 

“Alright, a little woozy but I’m okay,” He said. “Yunho’s really alive, huh.” 

“Yeah, I am, at least you are too,” Yunho replied. “Ino says you’re pretty much free from the audio trigger they put into us back at that place.” 

“Yeah, I realized that too. I’ve been hearing nothing but Pandora’s Box for a few days,” A soft chuckle escaped Hongjoong’s lips. “But then I remembered you, and I kind of felt bad having to fight you that night, I just couldn’t stop myself.” 

“It’s not your fault, but you don’t have to worry about that anymore, the guy who did that to us is dead now,” Mirae revealed. 

Hongjoong stared at her, and out of the sleeping quarters as well was Seonghwa, who looked a little more surprised at the sight of them. He stepped back and suddenly peeked into the sleeping quarters again. “Hey, Mingi, she’s here,” He said. Out of the room came Mingi, who looked just as surprised. 

“Wooyoung! Jongho! Guess who’s here!” Mingi suddenly called out, his deep voice surprising Yunho and Mirae. 

“I wasn’t expecting a sudden group meeting, but I guess it’s better to see all of you than have to repeat myself, hmm?” Mirae said quietly, stopping when she saw Wooyoung and Jongho come out of the lab, both of them with stoic expressions. “Well, now you’re free of the trigger, I just wanted to come- we just wanted to drop by and see how you were all doing. There’s no sanitarium anymore, no electroshock therapy sessions anymore too, you can all do whatever you want.” 

“She killed him,” Hongjoong suddenly pointed out. “She killed the guy who did this to us.” 

“Not me,” She shook her head. “He was killed by his own family, I would’ve wanted to put them in prison but they said he had to die,” She said softly. “In case you were all wondering, no hard feelings from last week.” 

They noticed their expressions soften slightly. “How did you two get out of the trigger?” Seonghwa asked curiously. 

“When I died, my mind did a little reset,” Yunho replied. “I’m a mutant too.” 

“Ino took it out of me, same as the rest of you,” Mirae answered. “Well, if you still haven’t figured out where you want to go now that you’re free, you can still stay here, I’m sure Ino wouldn’t mind,” She glanced at the older boy, who nodded. “Well, since I just came-we just came by to see if you were all well, we should probably leave, right?” She turned to Yunho, who sensed what she was feeling. 

“Thanks for taking them in,” Yunho spoke on her behalf to Ino and Junhong as they turned to leave. Ino and Junhong waved at them. 

“Wait,” Seonghwa spoke. 

They turned back to them. “Yeah?” She said. 

“H-how will we-how will I know where to find you?” He asked. 

The two of them exchanged looks. They noticed that the rest of them looked just as curious as Seonghwa. “Look for a store called Empire Records,” Mirae said quietly. “There’s a back door, knock first before entering. Ino or Junhong will give you an address or they could have you teleported there if you want to see me.” 

Seonghwa nodded, but it was Hongjoong’s turn to speak. “That’s it, then? We’re really free?” He asked. 

“Yeah, you are, we’re not being controlled anymore, you can do whatever you want, it’s all up to you,” She assured them. 

“You mean, we’re not a unit anymore?” Jongho spoke. “Not a team anymore?” 

“I-” Mirae was a little taken aback by the question. “I-I don’t think we are anymore, yeah. I think it ended when I left the place.” 

“She left us, remember?” Wooyoung nudged him. “We’re not a team anymore, we can do what we want, we don’t have to listen to her. She’s not our leader.” 

“That’s true. You don’t have to listen to me,” She said with a nod. Yunho looked slightly surprised at Wooyoung’s words. “Well, we should probably go now, Yunho,” She tugged on his hand and he held it, lacing their fingers together as they bid Ino and Junhong goodbye again. As the doors and the vending machine sealed the entrance behind them upon stepping out, he sighed. “Even though I was expecting it, I was still surprised at what Wooyoung said,” He admitted, getting in the passenger seat of the car. 

“Me too, but at least they know?” She said, a hint of uncertainty in her tone. 

Yunho fastened his seatbelt. “Yeah, they now know they can go their separate ways. The question is if they want to.” 

“I’m sure they’ll make it on their own. We all learned the same things, they could blend in wherever they wanted,” Mirae said, partly as an assurance to herself. She held out some hope that they’ll try and do something good, but she knew she couldn’t stop them if they did something that wasn’t or if they returned to being who they were but without the trigger to provoke them. 

“I think Wooyoung just feels guilty for doing what he did to you that night,” Yunho shrugged, turning to her and reaching for her hand to hold. “I think they all do. Like you said, they’ve never tried to double cross you or betray you until that night.” 

“Even if he doesn’t feel guilty, I won’t hold it against him,” She squeezed his hand. “That was in the past, and now I’m looking forward. No regrets.” 

Yunho smiled and kissed her. “That’s my girl.” 

~ 

Music was playing at the bottom of Empire Records that evening. A fansign for Silver was underway, and crowds of people, some of them holding large cameras were standing by, taking pictures of 10 boys who were seated at long tables, all of whom were flashing smiles. When Mirae and Yunho arrived, San surprised them with a rooftop party. To Mirae’s surprise, Chanyeol was there, cooking steak on a nearby grill, blowing on the embers until he accidentally caused a big flame to shoot up, making him step back in surprise. “What’s this for?” She asked her brother, who handed them cans of cola. 

“To celebrate you finally getting your piece of mind and I no longer hear you crying in the middle of the night” He grinned. “But I just thought we’d all get together, an all-mutant party to celebrate the end of the week.” 

“Oh, well, cheers to that,” Mirae opened her can and Yunho opened his. 

“This must be the guy who can read Mirae’s mind, hi,” Chanyeol shook his hand. “Mirae and I go way back.” 

“What a coincidence, us too” Yunho chuckled. 

The door opened and it was Hyuk, followed by one of the boys that San figured was his cousin, Lee Midam. “I heard what happened, the Kang family, hmm?” Hyuk gave her a hug. “Now you can put that all behind you now. Anyway, I brought Midam here for obvious reasons, hey! Give me one of those!” 

To Yunho and San’s surprise, a can of beer was floating across the room and into Hyuk’s hand. A can of cola floated into Midam’s hand as well and the two of them drank. “Anyway, Hyuk, you know my brother San, and my boyfriend Jeong Yunho,” Mirae introduced him and they shook hands. 

“You must be the immortal one, yep, you are the immortal one,” Hyuk nodded, and Yunho knew he read his mind. 

“Isn’t the fansign still going on?” Mirae glanced at Midam, who nodded. “Aren’t they looking for you?” 

“I told them his mom was calling,” Hyuk said with a grin, and Mirae slapped his arm. “What?” 

“They’ll get impatient, you should probably go back down there,” She said to his cousin. 

“You are right, but I’ll take this by the way, it’s nice to meet all of you,” He held up the can and waved at them before leaving. 

“Steak is ready!” They heard Chanyeol announce, making them approach the table that was already set with side dishes and containers of pasta that came from the restaurant. 

Yunho turned to Mirae as they sat down. “This is going to be our life from now on, isn’t it?” He asked, looking amazed at the spread and at everyone around them. 

Mirae knew what he meant. “Yeah, pretty much,” She said, and she kissed him, tugging on his shirt a little before pulling away. 

“I don’t mind, it’s like we found our own family to be part of,” Yunho was beaming, pecking her lips. 

Mirae smiled at the kiss and sat back. “Hey, enough of that you two, stop making us feel single,” Chanyeol teased, making them laugh as he placed pieces of meat on their plates. 


End file.
